Wilbur Gleason Zeigler (1857–1923) was a lawyer and writer who is best known for founding the Marlovian theory of Shakespeare authorship in the preface and notes to his 1895 novel It Was Marlowe.

In the preface to the book Zeigler commented on the then-popular Baconian theory that Francis Bacon was the true author Shakespeare's works.

He argued that the two authors were very different, and put forward his alternative suggestion that Christopher Marlowe, who is recorded to have been killed in a fight in 1593, faked his death.

Zeigler dealt with the anticipated objection that, unlike Shakespeare, there is little humour in Marlowe's work, by referring to the comic scenes in Doctor Faustus.

In the novel, Zeigler creates a fictional narrative about how the deception may have occurred and why there appear to be two reported dates for Marlowe's death.

He also puts arguments about similarities between Marlowe's work and Shakespeare's into the mouths of Ben Jonson and Thomas Nashe.

In footnotes and an appendix Zeigler expands on connections between Marlowe's and Shakespeare's work and suggests that Jonson was behind the 1623 First Folio, in which he thinks he had a financial interest.

Helped by a clever lawyer and his friends William Shakespeare and George Peele Marlowe escapes.

In the audience Ben Jonson and Thomas Nashe express the suspicion that the work is very like Marlowe's, discussing the details of the parallels.

Zeigler was writing before Leslie Hotson discovered the records of the inquest into the death of Marlowe, identifying his killer as Ingram Frizer.

[7] Zeigler expresses the view that the city will re-emerge in better shape after the disaster, because new public spaces can now be planned and created.