Some people say that some of the works attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon were not actually written by him. The scientific argument behind this claim is known as the Shakespeare authorship question. "Anti-Stratfordians" say Shakespeare of Stratford was a false name to shield the identity of the real author or authors. These authors did not want their real names to become public, for various resons. Although the idea has attracted much public interest, all but a few Shakespeare scholars and literary historians consider it a fringe belief and for the most part acknowledge it only to rebut or disparage the claims.