Are these the lost Shakespeare plays?

A NEW book claiming to reveal six previously unrecognised plays by Shakespeare was launched in front of one of the first folios of the Bard's works.

In Enter Pursued by a Bear, author Dr John Casson claims to have unearthed Shakespeare's first published poem, the Phaeton sonnet, his first comedy, Mucedorus, and his first tragedies, Locrine and Arden of Faversham.

The book also explores the plays Thomas of Woodstock and A Yorkshire Tragedy, and claims to prove that a 'lost play' called Cardenio is a genuine work by Shakespeare and fellow playwright John Fletcher.

Dr Casson spent three years studying writings thought to be connected to Shakespeare and poring over the life and letters of aristocrat Sir Henry Neville, considered by some academics to be the latest candidate for the authorship of Shakespeare's plays.

"Some people have said, 'we don't know if this is by William Shakespeare', so I've been able to study them and say 'yes, here's the evidence for Shakespeare but here's also the evidence for Neville,' so I've been able to link the two," Dr Casson said.

"I started off looking at works where we weren't sure whether they were by Shakespeare or not and I tested them to see if there was any evidence for Henry Neville.

"I've found evidence pouring out and I've been able to show Shakespeare's development from his early days."

The book's launch comes just a week after a portrait thought to be the only surviving picture made of Shakespeare during his lifetime was unveiled in London.

It is believed that the artwork was painted in 1610, six years before the bard's death, when he was aged 46.