or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
30 used & new from £2.28

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy: Poet and Spy
 
 

Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy: Poet and Spy (Hardcover)

by Park Honan (Author) "Christopher Marlowe's life is the most spectacular of any English dramatist ..." (more)
2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £25.00
Price: £21.25 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.75 (15%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, November 25? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
11 new from £8.49 17 used from £2.28 2 collectible from £9.95
12 Days of Christmas Sale in Books
Get up to 65% off some of our top titles. Shop now

Special Offers and Product Promotions


Frequently Bought Together

Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy: Poet and Spy + A Dead Man in Deptford + The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe
Price For All Three: £34.17

Show availability and delivery details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

A Dead Man in Deptford

A Dead Man in Deptford

by Anthony Burgess
5.0 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.23
The World of Christopher Marlowe

The World of Christopher Marlowe

by David Riggs
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £6.99
The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe

The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe

by Charles Nicholl
4.7 out of 5 stars (9)  £7.69
The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

by Patrick Cheney
£12.46
Doctor Faustus and Other Plays: Tamburlaine, Parts I and II; Doctor Faustus, A- and B-Texts; The Jew of Malta; Edward II (Oxford World's Classics)

Doctor Faustus and Other Plays: Tamburlaine, Parts I and II; Doctor Faustus, A- and B-Texts; The Jew of Malta; Edward II (Oxford World's Classics)

by Christopher Marlowe
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £4.94
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: OUP Oxford; annotated edition edition (27 Oct 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0198186959
  • ISBN-13: 978-0198186953
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 374,723 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Park Honan, The Times Higher

"A superb biography...this is a deeply informed study."


Review

This impressive volume must surely be recognised as the standard Marlowe biography (Roger Hards, The Marlowe Society Newsletter )

Honan's great strength lies in his ability to capture the physical texture of Marlowe's world...Honan takes it apart with patience and sound judgement. (J. P. D. Cooper, Times Literary Supplement )

'By heaven, this is an excellent, necessary and hugely welcome book. Though it responsibly synthesises previous scholarship, brings new perspectives and enlivens old, its greatest achievement is this: it presents a Marlowe that the sane can live with.' (The Independent on Sunday, Min Wild )

Honan's book is more than a fine piece if detective work revealing the seedy underbelly of Elizabethan England. It takes the reader on a round tour of Marlowe's work. (Raymond Carr, The Spectator )

There's plenty of sparkle in this book. (Andrew Dickson )

'it is an elegantly written study which must now stand as the best overall biography of one of our most fascinating writers'. s

'a splendid book' (Charles Nicholl, The Sunday Times )

'Honan has some fascinating new material.' (Leanda de Lisle, History Today )

'Honan's addition to the fleet of books already written about Marlowe is constantly readable and adept at contextualising the history of Marlowe's times around this elusive figure who still fascinates today.' (Dermot Bolger, Sunday Business Post, Dublin )

'Honan frames the scant documentary evidence with great skill, carefully establishing the historical, religious and political context for each phase of Marlowe's career, and incorporating recent research that sheds more light on Marlowe's espionage career and murder.' (William Grimes, New York Times )

a rich and subtle study, combining convincing scholarship with a fluidity and pace that will appeal to the general reader (J.P.D. Cooper, TLS )

This is a rich and subtle study, combining convincing scholarship with a fluidity and pace that will appeal to the general reader. (J.P.D. Cooper, TLS )

A superb biography...this is a deeply informed study. (Park Honan, The Times Higher )

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Christopher Marlowe's life is the most spectacular of any English dramatist. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
wishlist - england
christopher marlowe
uk  history
medieval and renaissance poetry
masterclass theater
elizabethan and jacobean drama
biography

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy: Poet and Spy
44% buy the item featured on this page:
Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy: Poet and Spy 2.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£21.25
The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe
21% buy
The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe 4.7 out of 5 stars (9)
£7.69
A Dead Man in Deptford
15% buy
A Dead Man in Deptford 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£5.23
The World of Christopher Marlowe
14% buy
The World of Christopher Marlowe 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£6.99

 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Strives for objectivity, 21 Jan 2009
By Roman Clodia (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Park Honan is a well-respected literature professor, though it has to be said that his speciality is neither Marlowe nor the Renaissance period. That said, this is a well-researched and well-written book. I can understand why the previous reviewer here was disappointed since Honan doesn't rave about his subject or take a hagiographical approach to Marlowe. Instead this is a judged and balanced biography which admits upfront the lack of evidence for much of Marlowe's life.

Honan intersperses the life with succint commentaries of the plays and poetry: these parts are rather odd, I found, since they are not searching or innovative enough for the Marlovian scholar, and yet oddly-aimed at the general reader.

However the work on Marlowe's spy career, and the Walsingham network is done well; as well as his theatrical career in London.

So overall this is a book which strives - and succeeds - in maintaining an objectivity and detachment about its subject. But if you want something more involved, exciting and partisan I would recommend Nicholls' The Reckoning (The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe).
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars A writers views on a genius .. , 20 May 2007
By J. Meyer (Little Hallingbury. Essex) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I read this book as something of a Marlowe fan, and this publication did not meet with my expectations, but maybe my oppion is at fault or I am not at ease with this writers style.

The story of Christopher Marlowes life should be vivid and exciting, Christopher comes over as a bore and tiresome, the writer looks for faults and errors in his subject and sings little praise of his talents and values.

The book is 'worthy' and a product of a bright mind but lacks the 'sparkle' of its subject.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.