Gunpowder, treason and plot: literary conspiracy theories for bonfire night

Did Charlotte Brontë kill her sisters? Was Hunter S Thompson murdered? And were Shakespeares plays actually written by Queen Elizabeth? Its a fine night to burn your convictions

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November, the day Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellar of the House of Lords with 36 barrels of gunpowder, in one of historys great conspiracies. The precise details of the gunpowder plot have been contested over the centuries. Was Fawkes part of a group of Catholic militants planning on blowing up the Parliament at its 1605 state opening, as the best-known story goes. Or was the whole plot organised by the Earl of Salisbury as a way of pressuring King James I to toughen up his anti-Catholic laws, as recent conspiracy theorists have suggested? Either way, weve decided to celebrate bonfire night with eight of the best literary conspiracy theories.

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