- Hardcover: 413 pages
- Publisher: Harcourt (Mar 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0151759812
- ISBN-13: 978-0151759811
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,870,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Book Description
In 1593, the brilliant and controversial young playwright Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death in a Deptford lodging house. The circumstances were shady, the official account - a violent quarrel over the bill, or 'recknynge' - long regarded as dubious. This is a fully revised and updated version.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
This is a story of the Elizabethan underworld. It is a full-length investigation of the killing, tracing Marlowe's shadowy political dealings, his involvement in covert intelligence work, the charges of heresy and homosexuality against him. Critical new evidence is uncovered about his three companions on that last day in Deptford. Through Charles Nicholl's detailed research, a complex, unsettling story of entrapment and betrayal, chimerical plots and dirty tricks emerges. The author has written two travel books, "The Fruit Palace" and "Borderlines"; a study of Elizabethan alchemy, "The Chemical Theatre" and a biography of the pamphleteer Thomas Nashe, "A Cup of News".
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the best books about Elizabethan England I have ever read, but it is much more than that. Charles Nicholls has reached back four hundred years to tear aside the web of subterfuge which has obscured the crime that struck down a genius in his prime. Marlowe was a meteoric, if controversial talent, outstripping all his rivals, including the young Shakespeare. But his dealings with the vicious underworld of Elizabeth's police state brought him within the orbit of utterly ruthless men. For a time he was able to keep one step ahead of retribution, but in the end he had strayed too far beyond the acceptable limits of official tolerance. This book is a fascinating testament to the persistence and insight of an outstanding detective, as Charles Nicholls manages, in spite of elapsed time and concerted attempts at concealment, to piece together a story more fascinating than any fictional murder investigation. His insight into the period, his grasp of significant detail, his ability to see beyond the obvious, and above all the sheer depth of his knowledge make this book a work of considerable scholarship, but it doesn't read like a scholarly work. It reads like one of the most gripping thrillers you could ever find. The best book I read all year.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The second edition of this work has many virtues, not least some rethinking of the grand conspiracy theory suggested in the first. It uses Nicholl's characteristic minute examination of sources and background to draw clear and (sometimes) solid conclusions, but also to develop theories based on evidence and deduction. Keeping fact and assumption apart without becoming tedious may be the author's greatest gift as a historian. He's also a cracking writer and this is a thrilling story to tell - we start with a murder, and move onwards inexorably to ask WHY?
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Part of the reason this story is so captivating is the unknown element; there are things that we don't know about and questions we will never know the answer to. Marlowe's life between his time at Corpus Christi and his death was intertwined with that of the Elizabethan secret service, distancing it even further from the truth. But that's what makes you want to read this book - you want to know what happened, where he went and with who. You want to be able to solve the mystery of why he was murdered. Short of some significant new evidence coming forward we will never really know what happened in Deptford on 30th May 1593, but this book proves that all is not as it seems with the official story. It walks down the back streets and alleyways of Elizabethan England and reports to you what it sees.
I'm in the process of reading this book for the fourth time, and I know it won't be the last. The story is fascinating, and I guarantee that once you start it you will want to follow it through every twist and turn it takes.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The eye of the reckoning
Recently, I have become very interested in the subject of Christopher Marlowe, acquiring several books. Read more
Published 3 months ago by L. Power
Christpher Marlowe - 30th May 1593
I have been a fan of Charles Nicholl for some time and, as I am about to visit the new National Gallery exhibition on Leonardo, I have just taken from the bookshelf his "Leonardo... Read more
Published 6 months ago by RR Waller
Enjoyable read... but ultimately unconvincing
The death of Marlowe in 1593 is the start and end point of this dense and detailed investigation as Nicholl attempts to uncover what really happened on that day in Deptford. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Roman Clodia
A compelling exploration of a brutal police state
Taking the murder of Christopher Marlowe as its starting point this book delves into the evil world of the Elizabethan police state. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Aidan J. McQuade
Pulls you into the dangerous and thrilling world of Kit Marlowe
Nicholl has done a very, very thorough job in both original research, and in going over many of the more substantive clues and pieces of evidence of Marlowe's actions and his... Read more
Published on 22 July 2009 by Lou Knee
Incredible research but leaves too much unanswered
In 1593, the brilliant playwright Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl in Deptford, London. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2007 by S. Bailey
Fascinating Book
The mysterious death of Kit Marlowe is a starting point for an investigation into a murky world of Elizabethan spies and secret agents. Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2006 by wolf
Great Archival Work, Terrible Writing/Editing
There are only three reasons to read this prize-winning reconstruction of the events surrounding the death of Elizabethan playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe: (1) if you have... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2006 by A. Ross
nice little historical who dun it! utterly brilliant work
I love history and all the details. I also love riddles and mysteries. So, when someone combines both into a tale, as Charles Nicholl did, it's bound to please me. Read more
Published on 23 Nov 2003 by Deborah MacGillivray
Excellent
Very readable and entertaining. A good mix of history, with detective fiction and also history of literature. Read more
Published on 8 April 2003 by J. Abbott
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