The Marlowe Papers Unabridged (Audio Download): Amazon.co.uk: Ros Barber, Jonathan Aris: Books

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Audio Download
Listening Length: 8 hours and 50 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Audible.co.uk Release Date: 1 Jun 2012
Language: English
ASIN: B00883IY5Y

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

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Product Description

On May 30th, 1593, a celebrated young playwright was killed in a tavern brawl in London. That, at least, was the official version. Now, let Christopher Marlowe tell you the truth: that his 'death' was an elaborate ruse to avoid his being hanged for heresy; that he was spirited across the channel to live on in lonely exile, longing for his true love and pining for the damp streets of London; that he continued to write plays and poetry, hiding behind the name of a colourless printer from Stratford - one William Shakespeare.

With the grip of a thriller and the emotional force of a sonnet, this extraordinary novel in verse gives voice to a man who was brilliant, passionate, mercurial, and not altogether trustworthy. The son of a cobbler who rose so far in Elizabethan society that he counted nobles among his friends and patrons, a spy in the Queen's service, a fickle lover and a declared religious sceptic, he was always courting trouble. When it caught up with him, he was lucky to have connections powerful enough to help him escape.

Memoir, love letter, settling of accounts, and a cry for recognition as the creator of some of the most sublime works in the English language, this is Christopher Marlowe's testament and a tour de force by an award-winning poet: provocative, persuasive and enthralling.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a good but challenging read, little bit like Hilary Mantel 16 Jan 2013

By a liberal humanist

Format:Hardcover

At times the book reminded of Wolf Hall. That too was written in the first person, and if not actually in blank verse it often felt like it. The Marlowe Papers is not so versified that you don't often think it is actually just plain prose.

Once you sort out the chronology of what is going on, the story is quite gripping. It seems entirely plausible that Marlowe fell foul of various pressures. He was a much more serious thinker and writer than Jonson, but too revolutionary. And getting mixed up in spying is always going to be a dangerous move.

Having just read the Jonson biography by Donaldson, the contrast between the two men is fascinating, both came from relatively "humble" backgrounds. Although, back then a proper trade like shoemaking (Marlowe) or bricklaying (Jonson), if you were successful, is not at all what we today might think of them.

The book will lead me to read a leading source or two for the idea that Marlowe really did write the Shakespeare canon, even if like for the man from Stratford himself, the Earl of Oxford, Francis Bacon and Mary Sidney there is still zero contemporary and relevant personal evidence that any of them wrote the works (see the almost unarguable work of Diana Price, "Shakespeare: The Unorthodox Biography").

While waiting for real, hard evidence to turn up on the authorship question, we will just have to sit back and enjoy the best of the speculative works, of which Ros Barber's book is definitely up there among them.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A lyrical delight 14 Feb 2013

By P. Stickland

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I find it difficult to find books that I like. Maybe I'm particularly fussy or peculiar, but the important point is there are so many books shrieking for attention and barely half a dozen of them are in the same league as The Marlowe Papers. I buy it in every way that this phrase implies. For me its a poetic delight, a tour de force that explores the creative psyche and I love it. Its such a pleasure to read slowly, taking in all the pleasure of words and thoughts at a rhythm that connects with understanding. I can't be doing with all the worrisome reviews about correctness. Its art and that's it for me. Well done Ros.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A not so dead man in Deptford? 12 May 2012

By Mrs. D. J. Smith VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I thought this was a really interesting idea; a 'novel (if that's even the right word!) written entirely in Blank Verse. Obviously the subject matter was also one that interested me.

The book apparently formed part of Barber's PhD and her central theory is the one that playwright and intelligencer Christopher Marlowe did not in fact die in Deptford as supposed. Subsidiary to this is the idea that William Shakespeare was just a front man for a whole host of plays written by an exiled Marlowe. Despite appearing in a production of Doctor Faustus as a teenager, I will admit that I am not terribly au fait with the details of Marlowe's life but having read Barber's work and the notes at the back, I can see there is some mileage in the idea of him having not actually died as reported; certainly there appears something fishy going on. I'm less convinced by the idea that someone else 'must' have written Shakespeare's plays. If Marlowe could be successful as the son of a Kentish Cobbler, why can't we believe the same of the son of a Stratford glover? Be that as it may, that is the stance Barber has chosen to take and I can accept what she gives me for the purpose of her 'entertainment' of 'what might have happened'.

As to the book itself, it's about 400 pages long and I think it took about 100 of those before I felt I was really getting into it. I'm not sure if it was adjusting to the style of the work (I read some plays in Blank Verse, but I'm not a great poetry lover) or if the early section was more chronologically disjointed and more tricky to get into the swing of the action? I am glad I persevered though, as I did end up enjoying it.... Read more ›

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpectedly original and brilliant 19 Mar 2013

By K. J. Noyes

Format:Paperback

What a fantastic idea! What a great structure!
Before I use too many exclamation marks, I'll calm down.

Have you ever tried a book that wasn't written in prose? It's a nervy prospect - will there by rhymes? Do you need to sing it? Will it make sense?

Just a page or two into The Marlowe Papers and you end up feeling that the style is quite natural while still being a little different. It suits the subject.

And the subject is Christopher Marlowe. Not being a historian I knew only a little about Marlowe - that he was a contemporary of Shakespeare, was quite well-travelled as a spy (allegedly), and died in a tavern brawl. (And none of this from Shakespeare in Love, but A-Level English and Edward II). This book fills in the story, and embellishes it by asking - what if his death was faked, and it was MARLOWE who wrote Shakespeare's plays?...

It is as compelling a read as any thriller. The period detail is brilliant, I could picture the scenes, the man, Tudor London.

And I must confess, it does make you wonder - what if it were true?!

It's very well done, a lovely blank verse style that is by no means hard to read. Made me research Marlowe's history a little more after I'd finished.

Really quite beautiful at times, and a superb book for a group, plenty of material to get your teeth into. I hope being on the Women's Prize longlist brings it a larger readership.

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