Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Marston is still a crowd pleaser!, 9 Jul 2007
Nicholas Bracewell is set to save Lord Westfield's Men. Again. For the 16th time. In "The Princess of Denmark," Edward Marston's continuation of this series set in Elizabsethan England, we find a continuation of the same issues, problems, love interests, and stilted dialogue that the entire series contains. Nothing is new. Except that this time the adventures are set mostly in Denmark, Elsinore Castle (sound familiar?).
As we have it, the Queen's Head, home of Westfield's Men, the best theatrical company in all England, has been partially burned, dashing (once more) to the ground all hopes of our Men's continued profession. Woe is we! Whatever shall we do?
At the same time, the group's patron, Lord Westfield himself, has issued a proposal of marriage to a young lady in Denmark, the marriage arranged through an intermediary, and, once again, stepped in to help his company. They'll accompany him to Elsinore and perform there for his hosts and the king.
As this is a murder mystery, we need a body. Did we mention that a young theatre goer was burned to death in the Queen's Head fire? Thus, the fire sets in motion the series of dastardly deeds.
The crew boards a vessel for Denmark and on the way they encounter, in true--but quick--swashbuckling style, they dispense of the pirates (with Nick leading the way) and soon land at their destination. Alas, things are not what they seem. The intermediary to this marriage is found murdered (another body!) and the action speeds up. Nick is ever ready to come to the rescue again. As if to echo Macbeth's resounding lines, "double double toil and trouble" and "false face must hide false heart," Marston marches us on to a quick conclusion. The marriage ramifications and conditions are resolved, the murders are resolved, and the company is soon returned to England,where the last vestiges of this murder mystery are cleared up.
Still, despite a very tried and true formula, this series by Marston is delightful (if not fully predictable) to read. One wishes, though, that the author would find other conflicts beside the now tiresome ones (the Queen's Head owner continuously tossing them out of his premises, Barnaby Gill's same old tire arguments, the same old Lawrence Firethorne, great actor that he is. Enough is enough. There are many, many more options Marston has to take the development of this series and of his characters to other, even more exciting, adventures.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A Terrific Series of Books, 2 Dec 2006
Edward Marston is the pseudonym of Keith Miles, a fairly prolific and extremely good writer of mainly Elizabethan and medieval mysteries. He has also written mysteries under his own name with both sporting and golf backgrounds. However it is primarily the books that take place earlier in history that I am interested in. He read modern history at Oxford and has had many jobs, including university lecturer, but fortunately for all his readers, he turned to the writing profession.
Winter is approaching and the troupe of actors known as Westfield's men are one again out of work, but not for long. Their patron Lord Westfield has decided to marry again and has chosen a Danish bride with tenuous attachment to the Danish Royal family. The troupe is invited to perform as guests of the King, Christian IV and fittingly or so they believe they choose to perform as one of their offerings, The Princess of Denmark. They little know when making the decision that it will prove to be a disastrous choice.
Westfield's men soon find themselves embroiled in political mayhem and religious dissension. Lord Westfield who has never seen his future bride in the flesh and made his proposal after seeing a painted miniature of the lady, is less than enthusiastic when he actually meets the lady. But he can hardly withdraw his offer of marriage. As usual murder and intrigue follow the company wherever they go, and eventually they realise that there is a traitor in their ranks. Once again it falls to Nicholas Bracewell to solve the murder, unmask the villain and extricate Lord Westfield from his unsuitable match.
The author's love for the Elizabethan theatre comes shining through this series of books. Plus his knowledge of the period fills the pages with authenticity and the sights and sounds of the streets and inns of Elizabethan London.
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