To the historian it furnishes what is evidently the testimony of an eyewitness on several matters of importance which are neglected by other narrators, and to the student of literature it is of interest as one of the prime sources of Shakespeare's history plays. On 22 June 1940, Alan Keen, a dealer in antiquarian books, discovered an extensively annotated copy of Hall's Chronicle among the contents of a library from outside London which he had just purchased. Keen considered that the marginal annotations, most of which are found in the chapters covering the reigns of Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI, were made by Shakespeare. Keen published his findings in two journal articles, and in a book co-authored with Roger Lubbock in 1954, The Annotator. After his death Keen left the volume in the hands of trustees, who placed it in the British Library, where until 2007 it was catalogued as Loan MS 61. References Footnotes Bibliography External links Edward Hall in The History of Parliament online, digitized from Will of Edward Hall of Gray's Inn, Middlesex, proved 25 May 1547, PROB 11/31/518, National Archives Retrieved 24 June 2013 Will of John Hall, grocer, of London, proved 13 March 1529, PROB 11/23/60, National Archives Retrieved 24 June 2013 Will of Katheryn Hall, widow, of Saint Benet Sherehog, City of London, proved 18 August 1557, PROB 11/39/329, National Archives Retrieved 24 June 2013 Hall's Chronicle, 1809 edition Retrieved 24 June 2013 Hall's Chronicle, 1965 reprint of 1809 edition, HathiTrust Digital Library Retrieved 24 June 2013. 16th-century English writers 16th-century English historians 16th-century male writers 1496 births 1547 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Common Serjeants of London English chroniclers 16th-century English judges English MPs 1529–1536 English MPs 1539–1540 English MPs 1542–1544 English MPs 1545–1547 People educated at Eton College