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The World of Christopher Marlowe
 
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The World of Christopher Marlowe (Hardcover)

by David Riggs (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 411 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber (6 May 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0571221599
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571221592
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.2 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 562,074 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Product Description

This is the definitive book about the man who revolutionised English drama and English poetry - and was murdered in his prime. David Riggs evokes the atmosphere and texture of Marlowe's life, from the stench and poverty of a childhood spent near Canterbury's abattoirs to the fanatical pursuit of classical learning at school. Marlowe won a place at Cambridge University, where he entered its world of eighteen-hour working days, religious intrigue and twilight homosexuality. The gifted student was not immune to the passions and fears of the wider society, and Riggs describes the mood of England in those years when Elizabeth's crown was anything but secure, and Spain and the Papacy were determined to overthrow her regime. Looming above everything is the Elizabethan state and its spy rings, with which Marlowe was already involved by the time he left Cambridge. His undercover missions brought him into contact with Catholic conspirators who were plotting to kill the Queen; yet as a playwright and thinker he was attracted to the most unorthodox and threatening idea of all - atheism. Marlowe brought a wonderful new lightness and musicality to English verse, but was held in little esteem during his lifetime and his works were scrutinised for heresy. As a writer of plays, he was literally on the margins of London life, working on the edge of the city where prostitutes and thieves scratched a living. Eventually, the combination of espionage, dangerous knowledge, homosexuality and suspected treason proved deadly to him. Marlowe's brief life was enigmatic, contradictory and glorious - and this magisterial work of reconstruction and scholarship illuminates it with immense richness.

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An imaginative life, 10 Sep 2004
By A Customer
I found this to be an imaginative book describing the world in which Christopher Marlowe existed, was reared, was educated, wrote and fared. As with any subject where the documentary evidence is limited, many gaps have to be filled in by speculation. The author dealt with many of the enquiries in a deft way. The narrative pursued in the book is never dull. My only reservation is that Marlowe is a will-o-the-wisp and I never felt that I grasped the subject's life. That of course is not the author's fault. Overall, an intriguing account of an interesting playwright and poet.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating reconstruction of Marlowe's life and times, 11 Jul 2009
By M. R. N. Shackelford "mark shackelford" (Worthing, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Given that there is little or no history of the enigmatic Marlowe, this author has done an exceptional archaeological treatise on the subject. Using information from the era (16th Century) he interpolates the likely activities surrounding Marlowe's career - from his early life in Canterbury, through his years at Cambridge University, to his (short) career as dramatist, spy and hedonist (to put it politely).

Fascinating insights into the Elizabethan age, and highly probable extrapolations to what Marlowe was most likely to have done, with an introduction to the characters that populated his world.

He then backs up these theories by looking at the only actual record of Marlowe's life - his plays and poetry, and shows how these works were defined by the culture and learning that Marlowe must have gone through at school and Cambridge.

Very very good - and highly recommended to anyone who would like a glimpse of the how's and why's of the life of England's first great dramatist (yes, I have heard of Shakespeare...)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars comprehensive , 1 May 2009
By Mr. Mfp Torpey "mickey" (Berks, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This was an enlightening reading experience. It gives an comprehensive picture of Elizabethan England, its social structures, its education and the impact of class of one's ability to progress in society. Christopher Marlowe was a unique character who was embroiled in all the issues current at the time religious upheveal, political intrigue, the development of English theatre and anarchy!

A comprehensive view on the life and times of Christopher Marlowe.
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