Allison Epstein

If you know your English drama , you already know something about Christopher Marlowe. He was a cobbler's son from Canterbury who became Shakespeare's greatest rival on the London stage, writing such brilliant and popular plays as [Doctor Faustus,] [The Jew of Malta,] [Tamburlaine] (parts 1 & 2) and [Edward II.] You're probably familiar with his description of Helen of Troy: "Was this the face that launches a thousand ships?" Or his lyric "Come live with me and be my love."

But if that's all you know about Marlowe, you're missing a lot about his fascinating life and death, and Allison Epstein tries to bring it all to the page in 'A Tip for the Hangman'--adding, of course, a lot of speculation and embellishment. He was awarded a scholarship to Cambridge, but before he was received his Master's degree, accusations that he was a secret Catholic and intended to go to Rheims to be ordained as a priest caused the university to withhold it. However, the Privy Council intervened on the basis of Marlowe's "good service" to his queen and country and allowed the degree to be granted. While there is no specification as to the nature of this "service," scholars generally believe that Marlowe was acting as an agent for Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's notorious spymaster.

Epstein runs the full gamut of intrigue here, from Cambridge rumors of Marlowe's atheism and homosexuality, to the brilliant world of the London stage, to the tasks she imagines he was assigned by Walsingham, to his violent and suspicious death. She also gives us insight into Marlowe's own feelings about his various doings, including a love affair with a fellow student and the role he might have played in uncovering Catholic sympathizers looking to topple Elizabeth from the throne or, at least, make sure that her successor was not a Protestant. We also get a window into the dysfunctional Marlowe family and the effects of poverty, especially on his beloved sisters.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and thought it quite well written. Epstein has done her research on Marlowe's writings, the known facts about his life, and the vast speculation about the exact nature of his service to the queen. And of course, this being a novel, she has added plenty of material from her own imagination to round it out.… (mere)

This is an I-had-to-buy-it-because-I-couldn't-get-approved-for-a-review-copy book for me. I'm glad I bought it. Epstein's Kit Marlowe is an interesting character, full of contradictions and often one of his own worst enemies. Francis Walsingham and members of the spy network he oversees are a fascinating group with layer upon layer of sometimes-twisted reasoning. The two mysteries in it (it's written as a single novel, but really works more like a pair of novellas) are engaging. I'm only sorry that the book ends with Marlowe's murder—not a spoiler, his death is both common knowledge and a mystery with many unresolved elements.… (mere)