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The Marlowe Papers
On May 30th, 1593, a celebrated young playwright was killed in a tavern brawl in London. That, at least, was the official version. Now let Christopher Marlowe tell you the truth: that his 'death' was an elaborate ruse to avoid his being hanged for heresy; that he was spirited across the channel to live on in lonely exile, longing for his true love and pining for the damp streets of London; that he continued to write plays and poetry, hiding behind the name of a colourless man from Stratford — one William Shakespeare.
With the grip of a thriller and the emotional force of a sonnet, this extraordinary novel in verse gives voice to a man who was brilliant, passionate, mercurial and not altogether trustworthy. The son of a cobbler who rose so far in Elizabethan society that he counted nobles among his friends and patrons, a spy in the Queen's service, a fickle lover and a declared religious sceptic, he was always courting trouble. When it caught up with him, he was lucky to have connections powerful enough to help him escape.
Memoir, love letter, settling of accounts and a cry for recognition as the creator of some of the most sublime works in the English language, this is Christopher Marlowe's testament — and a tour de force by an award-winning poet: provocative, persuasive and enthralling.
With the grip of a thriller and the emotional force of a sonnet, this extraordinary novel in verse gives voice to a man who was brilliant, passionate, mercurial and not altogether trustworthy. The son of a cobbler who rose so far in Elizabethan society that he counted nobles among his friends and patrons, a spy in the Queen's service, a fickle lover and a declared religious sceptic, he was always courting trouble. When it caught up with him, he was lucky to have connections powerful enough to help him escape.
Memoir, love letter, settling of accounts and a cry for recognition as the creator of some of the most sublime works in the English language, this is Christopher Marlowe's testament — and a tour de force by an award-winning poet: provocative, persuasive and enthralling.
407 pages, Paperback
First published May 24, 2012
67 people are currently reading
1708 people want to read
About the author
Ros Barber
17 books98 followersNovelist, both historical and speculative fiction. Debut novel The Marlowe Papers (2012) was winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize 2013, joint winner of the Author's Club Best First Novel Award 2013, long-listed for the 2013 Women's Fiction Prize (formerly the Orange Prize).
😀😀😀
Second novel, Devotion (2015) was short-listed for the Encore Award 2015.
📕📕📕Third novel: an epic adventure, currently (spring 2024) being edited.
☠️☠️☠️
Non-fiction: literary history/biography, specialising in Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Editor and co-author of 30-Second Shakespeare (UK) / Know-it-All Shakespeare (US). Author of Shakespeare: The Evidence and the Coursera MOOC Introduction to Who Wrote Shakespeare.
📚📚📚
Poetry. A collection of poems, Material (2008) was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. The title poem features in Faber's Poems of the Decade and is taught in schools in the UK.
🎓🎓🎓
Subscribe to my Substack newsletter for updates, offers and insider info.
😀😀😀
Second novel, Devotion (2015) was short-listed for the Encore Award 2015.
📕📕📕Third novel: an epic adventure, currently (spring 2024) being edited.
☠️☠️☠️
Non-fiction: literary history/biography, specialising in Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Editor and co-author of 30-Second Shakespeare (UK) / Know-it-All Shakespeare (US). Author of Shakespeare: The Evidence and the Coursera MOOC Introduction to Who Wrote Shakespeare.
📚📚📚
Poetry. A collection of poems, Material (2008) was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. The title poem features in Faber's Poems of the Decade and is taught in schools in the UK.
🎓🎓🎓
Subscribe to my Substack newsletter for updates, offers and insider info.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
September 1, 2019
“The Review”
Picture this: a novel written in verse,
a modern imagining in Marlowe’s
mighty line, of a life lived after a
falsified death. Check Wikipedia;
Christopher Marlowe died, stabbed in the eye,
in a reckoning over a bill
in 1593, so it’s said. But
wait, there’s more to this story. The others
with him in that house in Deptford
were hardly model citizens: spies,
loan sharks, con-men. And, Christopher Marlowe
had some issues of his own. Arrested
for heresy and suspected as a
government spy, he seemed right at home with
that motley crew. So bring in the theorists,
and they are many, to argue Kit’s death
was no barroom brawl, instead some sort of
contract killing. Makes sense, though we’ll never
know for sure.
Enter stage right, Ros Barber
and her pals, The Marlowe Society.
They argue that Marlowe did not, in fact,
die in 1593. To escape prosecution his death
was feigned, another’s body was buried
in that unmarked grave in Deptford, while Kit
escaped to spend his life writing . . . the works
of Shakespeare. You might think this unlikely
(I do), but Barber’s onto something here.
Casting Kit Marlowe as a genius who’s
also a spy, atheist, cross-dresser,
bisexual, counterfeiter, poet,
brawler, playwright, and all around bad boy
makes for a romping good yarn. Remember
this is a novel, no need to take its
postures as proven arguments. Read it
and enjoy.
But what if you know nothing
of Elizabethan times, of Marlowe’s
life or art? It might be a somewhat of a
slower read, but still worth your time. You won’t
need to fact-check the plotline. That would
slow you down for sure. You could accept
the characters and actions as figments
of an author’s imagination, or
you could, before you begin the book, read
the author’s notes added at the end. If
you want to know more about Marlowe’s life,
choose a biography and learn in prose.
Barber’s book’s strength is its artistry, she
tells her story beautifully.
What if
poetry is not your thing? You read this far,
didn’t you? And believe me, Ros Barber,
while unconvincing in making the case
that Marlowe lived and wrote all Shakespeare’s works,
knows her way through poetry. Her lines, strong
and convincing, make this book good; so what
if its thesis is silly. These poems impress;
and I am one reader who will seek out
Barber’s earlier poetry books. There,
I bet, is strong poetry, unburdened
by the need to take a critical stance,
to define a story not her own. There
her power as a poet, writing in
her own time and tongue will reveal the strengths
which she uses later to build Marlowe’s
story. There the beauty of her own poems
will suggest where she found the sweet thoughts
at the core of her “Marlovian” sonnets.
“What Readers Need Writers to Do: A Sonnet”
What harm could there be to write in the voice
of an admired poet, now long dead?
When words swirl through the poet’s mind, what choice
will she make? Her word, or what he might’ve said?
What does it mean “to thine own self be true”
when the self that is speaking is someone
else, not the speaker who lives, but she who
breathes life into a tale quite overdone?
Personal truth—that’s not what we seek here;
The Marlowe Papers is fiction, which means
that its truth needn’t be literal. We
want facts, lies, and all the inbetweens.
Readers seek books that inform and delight;
Writers: it’s your job to choose what to write.
Picture this: a novel written in verse,
a modern imagining in Marlowe’s
mighty line, of a life lived after a
falsified death. Check Wikipedia;
Christopher Marlowe died, stabbed in the eye,
in a reckoning over a bill
in 1593, so it’s said. But
wait, there’s more to this story. The others
with him in that house in Deptford
were hardly model citizens: spies,
loan sharks, con-men. And, Christopher Marlowe
had some issues of his own. Arrested
for heresy and suspected as a
government spy, he seemed right at home with
that motley crew. So bring in the theorists,
and they are many, to argue Kit’s death
was no barroom brawl, instead some sort of
contract killing. Makes sense, though we’ll never
know for sure.
Enter stage right, Ros Barber
and her pals, The Marlowe Society.
They argue that Marlowe did not, in fact,
die in 1593. To escape prosecution his death
was feigned, another’s body was buried
in that unmarked grave in Deptford, while Kit
escaped to spend his life writing . . . the works
of Shakespeare. You might think this unlikely
(I do), but Barber’s onto something here.
Casting Kit Marlowe as a genius who’s
also a spy, atheist, cross-dresser,
bisexual, counterfeiter, poet,
brawler, playwright, and all around bad boy
makes for a romping good yarn. Remember
this is a novel, no need to take its
postures as proven arguments. Read it
and enjoy.
But what if you know nothing
of Elizabethan times, of Marlowe’s
life or art? It might be a somewhat of a
slower read, but still worth your time. You won’t
need to fact-check the plotline. That would
slow you down for sure. You could accept
the characters and actions as figments
of an author’s imagination, or
you could, before you begin the book, read
the author’s notes added at the end. If
you want to know more about Marlowe’s life,
choose a biography and learn in prose.
Barber’s book’s strength is its artistry, she
tells her story beautifully.
What if
poetry is not your thing? You read this far,
didn’t you? And believe me, Ros Barber,
while unconvincing in making the case
that Marlowe lived and wrote all Shakespeare’s works,
knows her way through poetry. Her lines, strong
and convincing, make this book good; so what
if its thesis is silly. These poems impress;
and I am one reader who will seek out
Barber’s earlier poetry books. There,
I bet, is strong poetry, unburdened
by the need to take a critical stance,
to define a story not her own. There
her power as a poet, writing in
her own time and tongue will reveal the strengths
which she uses later to build Marlowe’s
story. There the beauty of her own poems
will suggest where she found the sweet thoughts
at the core of her “Marlovian” sonnets.
“What Readers Need Writers to Do: A Sonnet”
What harm could there be to write in the voice
of an admired poet, now long dead?
When words swirl through the poet’s mind, what choice
will she make? Her word, or what he might’ve said?
What does it mean “to thine own self be true”
when the self that is speaking is someone
else, not the speaker who lives, but she who
breathes life into a tale quite overdone?
Personal truth—that’s not what we seek here;
The Marlowe Papers is fiction, which means
that its truth needn’t be literal. We
want facts, lies, and all the inbetweens.
Readers seek books that inform and delight;
Writers: it’s your job to choose what to write.
December 26, 2012
It was intriguing proposition: a story spun around the assumption that Christopher Marlowe did not die in a tavern brawl on 30th May 1593. The assumption that another man died and Marlowe fled, fearing being charged with heresy, and lived in exile. The assumption that he continued to write with his work being published under the name of another man: William Shakespeare.
I lack the depth of knowledge to assess whether or not the tale is viable, but I can say that, to me, Ros Barber made her case convincing and her story compelling.
The initial proposition was made even more intriguing by the fact that it is written entirely in blank verse. I thought that it might be hard work but it really wasn’t: it read beautifully. The language is not of the period but I think it would be fair to say that it is sympathetic to the period. It feels right.
Now writing a story of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare in such a way has a particular danger. It invites comparisons by which even very fine writers would suffer. But I think that to dwell on such things would be a mistake. Because this is a book that tells a story, celebrates its subjects, and throws intriguing questions into the air. And to write it in such a way was a marvellous feat and quite clearly a labour of love.
Most of the writing is in the form of iambic pentameter, as Marlowe considers his past and faces his future. He writes, he travels, he forms new relationships, he makes covert trips back to england, and he finds himself caught up in intrigue.
I couldn’t say whether or not the voice that Ros Barber created for Marlowe was authentic, but I can say that it was engaging and that I wanted to go on listening.
From time to time there are sonnets that bring significant points into focus. I loved so many of them, and in the middle of the book when they were sparse the story’s hold weakened a little. But it didn’t let go.
After a compelling opening, telling of the flight from England, considering the consequences, and looking to the future I really didn’t want to let go. And as the story unfolded I appreciated the atmosphere, the characterisation, and the wealth of detail.
Historical figures and incidents moved through the story, adding substance, and I am quite sure that if I knew more I would have noticed much more.
What I did notice was an extraordinary web of history, intrigue and emotion. The first two were wonderful but was is the third that really, really made the story sing.
After the tale had been told I found, at the back of the book, clear notes about the history and theories that underpinned the story, and generous acknowledgment of many sources. I hadn’t refered to them along the way, because I wanted to stay as I was, caught up on the story, but I was glad they were there for me to consider afterwards.
I realised that, although I wasn’t convinced that the story had been entirely plausible, I had still been caught up. Because the story was so vivid and because its telling was so effective.
I lack the depth of knowledge to assess whether or not the tale is viable, but I can say that, to me, Ros Barber made her case convincing and her story compelling.
The initial proposition was made even more intriguing by the fact that it is written entirely in blank verse. I thought that it might be hard work but it really wasn’t: it read beautifully. The language is not of the period but I think it would be fair to say that it is sympathetic to the period. It feels right.
Now writing a story of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare in such a way has a particular danger. It invites comparisons by which even very fine writers would suffer. But I think that to dwell on such things would be a mistake. Because this is a book that tells a story, celebrates its subjects, and throws intriguing questions into the air. And to write it in such a way was a marvellous feat and quite clearly a labour of love.
Most of the writing is in the form of iambic pentameter, as Marlowe considers his past and faces his future. He writes, he travels, he forms new relationships, he makes covert trips back to england, and he finds himself caught up in intrigue.
I couldn’t say whether or not the voice that Ros Barber created for Marlowe was authentic, but I can say that it was engaging and that I wanted to go on listening.
From time to time there are sonnets that bring significant points into focus. I loved so many of them, and in the middle of the book when they were sparse the story’s hold weakened a little. But it didn’t let go.
After a compelling opening, telling of the flight from England, considering the consequences, and looking to the future I really didn’t want to let go. And as the story unfolded I appreciated the atmosphere, the characterisation, and the wealth of detail.
Historical figures and incidents moved through the story, adding substance, and I am quite sure that if I knew more I would have noticed much more.
What I did notice was an extraordinary web of history, intrigue and emotion. The first two were wonderful but was is the third that really, really made the story sing.
After the tale had been told I found, at the back of the book, clear notes about the history and theories that underpinned the story, and generous acknowledgment of many sources. I hadn’t refered to them along the way, because I wanted to stay as I was, caught up on the story, but I was glad they were there for me to consider afterwards.
I realised that, although I wasn’t convinced that the story had been entirely plausible, I had still been caught up. Because the story was so vivid and because its telling was so effective.
April 6, 2013
To begin with, I was very gung-ho about reading a novel in verse. I also thought that I should raise the book's rating for that purpose. But, it's a new experience for me, sure, but it isn't for Barber. And in any case I'm no good at rating poetry. I mean, I also think that the verse form did this tale a disservice. I'll explain.
But first, the Shakespeare authorship question. I've read and enjoyed several plays by Shakespeare without ever wondering who it's author was. It is enough for me that they're available. But I also love conspiracy theories, so I started this book with the view to be fully converted to a Marlovian. (After already being a Baconian and Oxfordian, before converting back to Stratford. Marlowe would have been a new position for me.) Sad to say, that did not happen. Some parts of this fiction are believable, such as Marlowe's death being very convenient. But that he commissioned Shakespeare to pretend to be him and then set about with all the passion of a jealous mistress to undo him (and by extension Marlowe himself and everyone who supported his plot), is stretching my credulity. It's the same reason why I'm not an Oxfordian or a Baconian or any other thing, it's too hard for a non scholar like me. As I see it, there's much shoehorning of convenient facts and dropping unceremoniously of inconvenient ones required to support anything. Why, going by the book, is Marlowe connected to William Hall at all other than pure speculation? If anything, he's connected to Shakespeare, the man from Stratford. I'm a bad conspiracy theorist, am I not?
But, in my defense, I have nothing against the real, historical Christopher Marlowe being the author of the works of William Shakespeare. It's this book's Kit Marlowe I detest. In a 400 pages long book, 380 were given over to some quality self pity. So much so that I wanted to punch him in the face and take away his pen and paper. This is why I think verse did not work for this story - that much self pitying would not have floated in a prose book. There is no way in hell would I believe this cry baby was capable of anything - not a badass intelligencer who spent 8 (?) years in the service of the Queen, not a man who could write the comedies of Shakespeare, not anyone I would want to bother hiding and risking my own neck for (if I were Walsingham). He's ungrateful and careless and has the gall to whine and doubt the sincerity of his friends when he's the one who is doing everything but shouting from the rooftops that he's Marlowe. He also whines about how he was grievously slandered, etc. when the so called slander is all true - he blasphemed when he should have known better, against the judgment of his friends. Yep. Him I detest.
I had to laugh whenever someone called him discreet in the book, which was every so often. Just about everyone he meets recognizes him, everyone is in on this plot, and the two people who aren't he informs. Some plot. A couple of things also bothered me, why would he say in a chapter that Kit Marlowe would have never died in a tavern brawl like it was a new thing for him (Venus and Adonis and Thomas Thorpe), when he was in on the entire plot to rescue him and thus knew that that would be the reason given? And why would he go by both Louis Le Doux *and* William Hall when he's in Burley? In the book, Walsingham is confused as to which name he went by when he was in Burley for a few months at least. I also did not like the little conceit in the book that while no one would know while they were living, the Mermaid Club would leave so many clues that "intelligent" people would be able to sift through the clues when they were all dead. Yaay for the pat on the back, but considering the number of contenders there are for the Shakespeare authorship question, I think it's safe to say that that intention didn't work as well as supposed.
I probably would have been more willing support this theory if Barber's Kit Marlowe didn't keep harping on about being a cobbler's son and then go on to speak hideously of the Stratfordian's Cuntry ways and blunted wit. Book Marlowe treats Shakespeare as an usurper to the imaginary throne, not as a paid man doing as he was bid by Marlowe himself. I wish the Book Shakespeare had written Book Marlowe to back off or he would have him exposed. It's not as if anyone believed Shakespeare was the author of his works if we were to go by the book, what then had he to lose? Instead, he's strangely quiet, despite all the humiliations supposedly heaped on him in his own plays.
I'm not convinced of the Marlovian position, and I'm not convinced of the verse form although I acknowledge its effort. I found Kit Marlowe to be dour and unlikable, and since he's the only one I had to listen to for 400 long pages, I didn't like this book.
P.S. Marlin, Merlin, Marley, Morley, Marlowe all go uncommented, but a hyphenated Shake-speare is a MAJOR CLUE!
But first, the Shakespeare authorship question. I've read and enjoyed several plays by Shakespeare without ever wondering who it's author was. It is enough for me that they're available. But I also love conspiracy theories, so I started this book with the view to be fully converted to a Marlovian. (After already being a Baconian and Oxfordian, before converting back to Stratford. Marlowe would have been a new position for me.) Sad to say, that did not happen. Some parts of this fiction are believable, such as Marlowe's death being very convenient. But that he commissioned Shakespeare to pretend to be him and then set about with all the passion of a jealous mistress to undo him (and by extension Marlowe himself and everyone who supported his plot), is stretching my credulity. It's the same reason why I'm not an Oxfordian or a Baconian or any other thing, it's too hard for a non scholar like me. As I see it, there's much shoehorning of convenient facts and dropping unceremoniously of inconvenient ones required to support anything. Why, going by the book, is Marlowe connected to William Hall at all other than pure speculation? If anything, he's connected to Shakespeare, the man from Stratford. I'm a bad conspiracy theorist, am I not?
But, in my defense, I have nothing against the real, historical Christopher Marlowe being the author of the works of William Shakespeare. It's this book's Kit Marlowe I detest. In a 400 pages long book, 380 were given over to some quality self pity. So much so that I wanted to punch him in the face and take away his pen and paper. This is why I think verse did not work for this story - that much self pitying would not have floated in a prose book. There is no way in hell would I believe this cry baby was capable of anything - not a badass intelligencer who spent 8 (?) years in the service of the Queen, not a man who could write the comedies of Shakespeare, not anyone I would want to bother hiding and risking my own neck for (if I were Walsingham). He's ungrateful and careless and has the gall to whine and doubt the sincerity of his friends when he's the one who is doing everything but shouting from the rooftops that he's Marlowe. He also whines about how he was grievously slandered, etc. when the so called slander is all true - he blasphemed when he should have known better, against the judgment of his friends. Yep. Him I detest.
I had to laugh whenever someone called him discreet in the book, which was every so often. Just about everyone he meets recognizes him, everyone is in on this plot, and the two people who aren't he informs. Some plot. A couple of things also bothered me, why would he say in a chapter that Kit Marlowe would have never died in a tavern brawl like it was a new thing for him (Venus and Adonis and Thomas Thorpe), when he was in on the entire plot to rescue him and thus knew that that would be the reason given? And why would he go by both Louis Le Doux *and* William Hall when he's in Burley? In the book, Walsingham is confused as to which name he went by when he was in Burley for a few months at least. I also did not like the little conceit in the book that while no one would know while they were living, the Mermaid Club would leave so many clues that "intelligent" people would be able to sift through the clues when they were all dead. Yaay for the pat on the back, but considering the number of contenders there are for the Shakespeare authorship question, I think it's safe to say that that intention didn't work as well as supposed.
I probably would have been more willing support this theory if Barber's Kit Marlowe didn't keep harping on about being a cobbler's son and then go on to speak hideously of the Stratfordian's Cuntry ways and blunted wit. Book Marlowe treats Shakespeare as an usurper to the imaginary throne, not as a paid man doing as he was bid by Marlowe himself. I wish the Book Shakespeare had written Book Marlowe to back off or he would have him exposed. It's not as if anyone believed Shakespeare was the author of his works if we were to go by the book, what then had he to lose? Instead, he's strangely quiet, despite all the humiliations supposedly heaped on him in his own plays.
I'm not convinced of the Marlovian position, and I'm not convinced of the verse form although I acknowledge its effort. I found Kit Marlowe to be dour and unlikable, and since he's the only one I had to listen to for 400 long pages, I didn't like this book.
P.S. Marlin, Merlin, Marley, Morley, Marlowe all go uncommented, but a hyphenated Shake-speare is a MAJOR CLUE!
June 12, 2013
Oh for the love of God.
It was a good idea. It really was. A novel whose premise is that Christopher Marlowe did not die in a bar brawl, but instead staged his death and was spirited out of the country into hiding for fear of a heresy charge; punishment for heresy at the time was death. Further, he continued writing plays under the name of, wait for it, William Shakespeare.
But honest to God, a novel, a whole freakin' novel in iambic pentameter?! Seriously?! Ok, I do admire the cleverness of the whole thing, but it didn't work. This book would have worked better if it had a linear timeline and a more clear story arc (even keeping the verse), but no. There are a series of things that all seem to be happening out of order. You are halfway through the book before the plot to stage his death and get him out of the country happens. So I'm left wondering where was he while all this action was going on in the first half and was he dead/not dead/playing dead? It all becomes seriously confusing.
Also, the gay lover seems not heartfelt but a merely a nod to political correctness I found annoying. Marlowe's speech on how beauty knows no gender seems very modern to me as he explains to a gay man how he can love both women and men.
I know this book has won awards and accolades, and I feel sure it is probably pretty popular with the academic crowd in English departments at universities with its novel in verse format and all of its pc street cred, but if you are looking for a well constructed story and an enjoyable read, go elsewhere.
It was a good idea. It really was. A novel whose premise is that Christopher Marlowe did not die in a bar brawl, but instead staged his death and was spirited out of the country into hiding for fear of a heresy charge; punishment for heresy at the time was death. Further, he continued writing plays under the name of, wait for it, William Shakespeare.
But honest to God, a novel, a whole freakin' novel in iambic pentameter?! Seriously?! Ok, I do admire the cleverness of the whole thing, but it didn't work. This book would have worked better if it had a linear timeline and a more clear story arc (even keeping the verse), but no. There are a series of things that all seem to be happening out of order. You are halfway through the book before the plot to stage his death and get him out of the country happens. So I'm left wondering where was he while all this action was going on in the first half and was he dead/not dead/playing dead? It all becomes seriously confusing.
Also, the gay lover seems not heartfelt but a merely a nod to political correctness I found annoying. Marlowe's speech on how beauty knows no gender seems very modern to me as he explains to a gay man how he can love both women and men.
I know this book has won awards and accolades, and I feel sure it is probably pretty popular with the academic crowd in English departments at universities with its novel in verse format and all of its pc street cred, but if you are looking for a well constructed story and an enjoyable read, go elsewhere.
April 6, 2013
A masterpiece and my current favorite to win the Women's Prize for Fiction!
December 6, 2013
Barber is a master at conjuring the dead. She so skillfully imparts the substance of the Renaissance you feel your flesh creep with the longings and desires of people she magically brings to life as we envision each scene she seductively lays before us.
How does Barber accomplish this magic? She tells the tale in verse. Writing like an Elizabethan poet Barber is able to intuit a tale in a language lost to us. She flavors the writing with as just as much Elizabethan speech as needed to properly cast the spell. It is alive. The verse moves fluidly like water cascading from the rocks of one small chapter to another. We are charmed and then hooked as the veil of time fades away into an earlier period. The novel would not have worked well in the traditional format of prose, yet surprisingly moves like the traditional format of prose. We must have it in verse to become thoroughly entranced in the time.
We learn of the story of Christopher Marlowe, England’s best and most beloved poet before Shakespeare. This is a man who must make his mark, “Who writes must love their pen and every mark/it makes upon the paper, and the words/that set their neighbors burning, and the line/that sounds against the skull when read again.” The story of Marlowe is the stuff of legend. It is Elizabethan James Bond meets William Shakespeare, for Marlowe was a spy and a poet. The tale weaves us through an assortment of characters from noble Earls, to street thugs, to lost loves; it is essentially everything in a tantalizing yet savory piece of fiction.
Ros Barber is an artful historian as well as a talented poet. As The Marlowe Papers weaves its spell, Barber sinks a little Elizabethan magic into your soul. It is a book about a man who demands to be heard and who Barber accurately renders. She is a writer well worth remembering.
How does Barber accomplish this magic? She tells the tale in verse. Writing like an Elizabethan poet Barber is able to intuit a tale in a language lost to us. She flavors the writing with as just as much Elizabethan speech as needed to properly cast the spell. It is alive. The verse moves fluidly like water cascading from the rocks of one small chapter to another. We are charmed and then hooked as the veil of time fades away into an earlier period. The novel would not have worked well in the traditional format of prose, yet surprisingly moves like the traditional format of prose. We must have it in verse to become thoroughly entranced in the time.
We learn of the story of Christopher Marlowe, England’s best and most beloved poet before Shakespeare. This is a man who must make his mark, “Who writes must love their pen and every mark/it makes upon the paper, and the words/that set their neighbors burning, and the line/that sounds against the skull when read again.” The story of Marlowe is the stuff of legend. It is Elizabethan James Bond meets William Shakespeare, for Marlowe was a spy and a poet. The tale weaves us through an assortment of characters from noble Earls, to street thugs, to lost loves; it is essentially everything in a tantalizing yet savory piece of fiction.
Ros Barber is an artful historian as well as a talented poet. As The Marlowe Papers weaves its spell, Barber sinks a little Elizabethan magic into your soul. It is a book about a man who demands to be heard and who Barber accurately renders. She is a writer well worth remembering.
February 24, 2012
This is such an original novel, written with such verve and energy, that I'd recommend readers cancel their commitments for a few days, stock up on tea (or ale) and just enjoy immersing themselves fully in this rich, delicious, multi-layered story. You don't have to know about Marlowe, or hold any 'position' on the Shakespeare authorship question, to enjoy this book; you just need to be the sort of reader who appreciates an exciting tale well told. Then you can marvel at its fluency, and delight in the skill of a wordsmith who knows really her onions as a poet as well as a prose writer.
February 17, 2015
I loved this. I know its in verse and that's off-putting to a lot of people, but its extremely readable. If Barber had written it in prose, it wouldn't have been nearly as effective. It's gorgeously written, and I'll be buying a copy for my shelves (I borrowed it from the library) because it's something I'll definitely want to read again. I found/find myself wishing this is what really happened and I personally will happily pretend it's true.
January 6, 2025
Never before have I read a book that has made me more frustrated and angry than this one. I long ago would have abandoned if not for this was the book I chose for an AP Lit assignment and it was too late to turn back. My family members have been very confused at my exclaims of frustration or confusion.
The beginning is one of the most confusing things I’ve read. I had to search up a summary to piece it together. Much of the book is based on knowledge that is never presented to the reader; knowledge I had to research myself when I inevitably came across something confusing. He was a spy for the queen? Perhaps I’m stupid or perhaps that wasn’t clear at all. There are far too many characters to keep track of and there’s hardly any clues to differentiate which Earl was what or who had beef with Marlowe or anything of the sort.
I could rarely place who was speaking what and while that may be a feature of being in verse, it really detracted from the story. It makes complete sense for the book to be in verse considering it’s a recounting from Marlowe but it is used in a way that is so plainly awful and detracting it might have had a chance at being bearable if it wasn’t.
Then there’s the plot. The book is not written chronologically and while there is an argument that one doesn’t recount events in the exact order they happened, what was already confusing was made so much worse by random events that happen Willy nilly. You can barely get a pulse on what otherwise would have been some excellent characters arcs but no.
The premise was really interesting and it was done a disservice but most frustratingly of all was that I bc puke catch glimmers of a really good story. It brought to mind the Count of Monte Cristo, one of my favorite stories, in that it had some of my favorite elements: multiple identities, the struggle for reputation, betrayal, exile, world traveling, faked deaths, murders, and so on. But The Marlowe Papers are to The Count of Monte Cristo as a scribble by a two year old is to Michael Angelo’s works. This. Was. Bad.
Doubly frustrating was the connection I wanted to have with it. Many of the lines about writing I felt very personally, as a writer myself. The need to keep writing, the desire to be recognized by one’s successful works, and the frustration of not being able to find the words you need are all something I have felt myself. But then the book goes and slaughter’s everything I liked.
I waited desperately for the book to become enjoyable and I was stabbed repeatedly. Very. Many. Times. The war I waged against this book in forcing myself to finish it was very, very difficult.
There’s also to mention the so called “romance.” I thought the use of “you” in the text was a cool literary device but with the wild narrative, it wasn’t done in a way that felt real or fleshed out. Then there’s the random side character hook-ups. I may have even liked the character Lucille if I hadn’t had to read her gaining bits of knowledge through explicit sexual acts, dialogue intermingled. My word.
Finally, to our protagonist. The character arc I can piece together after having finished is quite good, but it is shot repeatedly by the way Barber has chosen to write. I originally thought his struggle with religion was quite interesting but throughout the book we just forget about that sometimes and sometimes he’s cool with god and other times he’s a staunch atheist while even more other times he’s so mad that he’s let thoughts slip while he’s drunk (which, when was he ever not drinking in this book, honestly?) and suddenly he’s so entirely worried about his reputation. His internal conflict is about akin to a heap of spaghetti.
I am filled with so much frustration and anger. I’ve wasted my time. The only positive I’ve gleaned from this is the deep desire to write a story that is basically a rewrite. And that’s quite exciting.
I would not recommend.
The beginning is one of the most confusing things I’ve read. I had to search up a summary to piece it together. Much of the book is based on knowledge that is never presented to the reader; knowledge I had to research myself when I inevitably came across something confusing. He was a spy for the queen? Perhaps I’m stupid or perhaps that wasn’t clear at all. There are far too many characters to keep track of and there’s hardly any clues to differentiate which Earl was what or who had beef with Marlowe or anything of the sort.
I could rarely place who was speaking what and while that may be a feature of being in verse, it really detracted from the story. It makes complete sense for the book to be in verse considering it’s a recounting from Marlowe but it is used in a way that is so plainly awful and detracting it might have had a chance at being bearable if it wasn’t.
Then there’s the plot. The book is not written chronologically and while there is an argument that one doesn’t recount events in the exact order they happened, what was already confusing was made so much worse by random events that happen Willy nilly. You can barely get a pulse on what otherwise would have been some excellent characters arcs but no.
The premise was really interesting and it was done a disservice but most frustratingly of all was that I bc puke catch glimmers of a really good story. It brought to mind the Count of Monte Cristo, one of my favorite stories, in that it had some of my favorite elements: multiple identities, the struggle for reputation, betrayal, exile, world traveling, faked deaths, murders, and so on. But The Marlowe Papers are to The Count of Monte Cristo as a scribble by a two year old is to Michael Angelo’s works. This. Was. Bad.
Doubly frustrating was the connection I wanted to have with it. Many of the lines about writing I felt very personally, as a writer myself. The need to keep writing, the desire to be recognized by one’s successful works, and the frustration of not being able to find the words you need are all something I have felt myself. But then the book goes and slaughter’s everything I liked.
I waited desperately for the book to become enjoyable and I was stabbed repeatedly. Very. Many. Times. The war I waged against this book in forcing myself to finish it was very, very difficult.
There’s also to mention the so called “romance.” I thought the use of “you” in the text was a cool literary device but with the wild narrative, it wasn’t done in a way that felt real or fleshed out. Then there’s the random side character hook-ups. I may have even liked the character Lucille if I hadn’t had to read her gaining bits of knowledge through explicit sexual acts, dialogue intermingled. My word.
Finally, to our protagonist. The character arc I can piece together after having finished is quite good, but it is shot repeatedly by the way Barber has chosen to write. I originally thought his struggle with religion was quite interesting but throughout the book we just forget about that sometimes and sometimes he’s cool with god and other times he’s a staunch atheist while even more other times he’s so mad that he’s let thoughts slip while he’s drunk (which, when was he ever not drinking in this book, honestly?) and suddenly he’s so entirely worried about his reputation. His internal conflict is about akin to a heap of spaghetti.
I am filled with so much frustration and anger. I’ve wasted my time. The only positive I’ve gleaned from this is the deep desire to write a story that is basically a rewrite. And that’s quite exciting.
I would not recommend.
December 26, 2012
I see what Ros Barber was trying to do here. The Marlowe Papers is an argument for Christopher Marlowe being the real Shakespeare, composed entirely in verse, and spanning several years of Marlowe's life-after-death. It meets with a moderate amount of success, though I can't help but think that there are some flaws that spoil either her argument, or the yarn as a whole.
I'm a literature nerd by trade, with an MA in English and a specialism in renaissance drama. I've written essays and dissertations on Marlowe, and on Shakespeare, and while I can see similiarities in the structure of their work, I still do genuinely believe that they are different people. Plays such A Winter's Tale are steeped in folklore and references to nature that come from the area surrounding the birthplace of the real Shakespeare and a place where Marlowe never ventured. There are just too many inconsistencies to suggest that Barber's hypothesis is correct, though that's just my view.
All of that said, this work formed Barber's PHD thesis, and has clearly been thoroughly researched. It does feel as if she has crafted a plausable story, and has deftly held her narrative together with references to plays written by Shakespeare, yet here claimed by Marlowe. There are references to Hamlet, the Tempest, Richard II, Richard III, Titus Andronicus, and all of these are used in comparison with the life experience had by Marlowe while he was alive and in his prime, or in the fictional post-death period that Barber explores in her novel. My concern about this is that fiction and fact have been blurred to create a realistic story that could lead to the same sorts of arguments that were had about realism in the Da Vinci code. The Marlowe Papers is one that should be taken with a pinch of salt, I think.
There are moments here where the verse is wonderful, and it flows, and I had to stop and try to convince myself that it wasn't a renaissance piece. There is a flipside to this however, where for the sake of convenience, or ease of reading for her audience, Barber has used anachronistic terms that jar you out of the experience.
All in all though, I would recommend it if you're a fan of early modern theatre, literature or historical novels, but my advice is to approach it with caution.
I'm a literature nerd by trade, with an MA in English and a specialism in renaissance drama. I've written essays and dissertations on Marlowe, and on Shakespeare, and while I can see similiarities in the structure of their work, I still do genuinely believe that they are different people. Plays such A Winter's Tale are steeped in folklore and references to nature that come from the area surrounding the birthplace of the real Shakespeare and a place where Marlowe never ventured. There are just too many inconsistencies to suggest that Barber's hypothesis is correct, though that's just my view.
All of that said, this work formed Barber's PHD thesis, and has clearly been thoroughly researched. It does feel as if she has crafted a plausable story, and has deftly held her narrative together with references to plays written by Shakespeare, yet here claimed by Marlowe. There are references to Hamlet, the Tempest, Richard II, Richard III, Titus Andronicus, and all of these are used in comparison with the life experience had by Marlowe while he was alive and in his prime, or in the fictional post-death period that Barber explores in her novel. My concern about this is that fiction and fact have been blurred to create a realistic story that could lead to the same sorts of arguments that were had about realism in the Da Vinci code. The Marlowe Papers is one that should be taken with a pinch of salt, I think.
There are moments here where the verse is wonderful, and it flows, and I had to stop and try to convince myself that it wasn't a renaissance piece. There is a flipside to this however, where for the sake of convenience, or ease of reading for her audience, Barber has used anachronistic terms that jar you out of the experience.
All in all though, I would recommend it if you're a fan of early modern theatre, literature or historical novels, but my advice is to approach it with caution.
December 3, 2018
And borne alone, the heaviness of lies
had worn me so extremely that I cared
no longer, truly, if I lived or died.
I've had this book on my shelves for a few years now, and every time I'd consider picking it up the challenge of reading an entire novel in verse daunted me enough to scare me off completely.
But if that similarly daunts you, and regardless of your opinion on the Marlow/Shakespeare authorship debate, I couldn't recommend this novel highly enough.
Our narrator, Kit Marlowe, is believed dead by the world, and pens his reflections upon the events of his life (along with new plays) from exile in Europe. The novel is written in its entirety in iambic pentameter, and as impressive as this authorial feat is alone, I felt the form fit this story perfectly. I was lulled by the rhythm of the quiet, contemplative verse, which lent the novel pitch-perfect poignancy. Regret, despair and longing permeate the book so achingly, and though (or perhaps because) our narrator is a deeply flawed man, we love and grieve alongside him.
I was, quite simply, touched by the beauty of this book, and I will definitely re-read this more than once. If you appreciate history, theater, emotion, and most importantly the beauty of language - then like me you'll be well rewarded by picking this up.
P.S. Barber also includes in her end-notes some interesting primary sources that inspired parts of the plot, particularly some references to Marlowe's role as an intelligencer for the Queen!
had worn me so extremely that I cared
no longer, truly, if I lived or died.
I've had this book on my shelves for a few years now, and every time I'd consider picking it up the challenge of reading an entire novel in verse daunted me enough to scare me off completely.
But if that similarly daunts you, and regardless of your opinion on the Marlow/Shakespeare authorship debate, I couldn't recommend this novel highly enough.
Our narrator, Kit Marlowe, is believed dead by the world, and pens his reflections upon the events of his life (along with new plays) from exile in Europe. The novel is written in its entirety in iambic pentameter, and as impressive as this authorial feat is alone, I felt the form fit this story perfectly. I was lulled by the rhythm of the quiet, contemplative verse, which lent the novel pitch-perfect poignancy. Regret, despair and longing permeate the book so achingly, and though (or perhaps because) our narrator is a deeply flawed man, we love and grieve alongside him.
I was, quite simply, touched by the beauty of this book, and I will definitely re-read this more than once. If you appreciate history, theater, emotion, and most importantly the beauty of language - then like me you'll be well rewarded by picking this up.
P.S. Barber also includes in her end-notes some interesting primary sources that inspired parts of the plot, particularly some references to Marlowe's role as an intelligencer for the Queen!
February 17, 2021
For the record, this story falls very firmly into the 'Marlowe didn't die' camp. Instead, his death was staged and he was shipped off to Europe, there to write and send back plays which were then sold by William Shakespeare as his. Interesting! The whole book is written in iambic pentameter, which also fascinates. All in all, a terrific read, even though I'm not exactly convinced Marlowe was Shakespeare.
February 4, 2013
Disappointed - in the facile writing, and the research I've read before as a devout Marlovian. Nothing new. Of course he is "Shakespeare", and England is a fraud for keeping the pretense up for so long, for commerce; but why didn't he shout it from the rooftops, as all writers would, and have, like Cervantes when pretenders tried to say they wrote Don Quixote? Marlowe-Shakespeare must have been one crazy mean motherfucker. I don't like him.
August 18, 2014
As a fan of Marlowe and someone who truly believes he and Shakespeare are one and the same, this book just leaves me hungry for more each time I pick it up. The voice is ideal, the writing lovely. Ros has done a lovely job with this and I can't enjoy this any more than I can breathing. It sounds like home to me with every line.
February 23, 2012
One of the most original and enthralling novels I've ever read. Totally gripping plot: adventure and mystery and romance and history and literary whodunnit all rolled into a bundle of fast-moving poetic narrative. A must read.
September 13, 2018
Loved this because it is about Marlowe and it is in blank verse!
Read
December 26, 2022This one was fighting against a prejudice of mine from the start: its premise demands acceptance of the "Marlowe didn't really die he just went undercover and became that Shakespeare guy" theory. Despite this massive Own Goal in the first minute, the novel is clever enough about how it explains the possibility that I remained interested despite my strong feeling that all this "Marlowe was Shakespeare" stuff is largely elitist/classist claptrap struggling endlessly with its own inability to accept the possibility that the much less-educated WS could have written all those plays. Another feature which for some might be a make-or-break: the novel is entirely in verse (not always successful verse)--though, of course, mostly blank verse (a few sonnets notwithstanding).
tasted
January 2, 2025The blank verse in this novel is excellent but, after a great start, I found myself less interested in the plot and the characters, and the verse wasn’t enough for me. Just not the right reader for this.
January 7, 2021
Brilliant and beautiful, written in a vibrant approximation of Marlowe's actual verse. A swoon-worthy read, worth visiting again and again.
June 16, 2012
When I was younger and less deliberate, my meals were chosen from the limited palette of steak and KFC. Thoughtless, I consumed excellence and excrescence and didn't distinguish between them. My reading followed my diet: it was at this time that I discovered "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", my first exposure to the world of conspiracy theories, fancies dressed as fact and hung from the thin thread of "could".
"The Marlowe Papers" is a novel in verse, telling the story of Kit Marlowe as spy who must fake his death and go into hiding, publishing poetry and plays under the name William Shakespeare. The temptation with fiction around an alternate history is to be coy about it, to slyly plant references to true people or events as winks to the reader. The trouble with conspiracy theories is that coincidences and conjunctions in reality are read as those winks: "it *must* be Marlowe writing as Shakespeare, look at all the hints he left us in the text!" Barber therefore has no need for winks, her fiction is played straight: Marlowe's diaries and letters about his life as Marlowe, then life on the lam hoping that James on the throne will let him return as Marlowe, are written honestly to the reader as confessions and not conspiracies. The conspiracy is the material from which the story is drawn.
But to dwell on the conspiracy is to miss the poetry, and that would be a shame. Barber walks a fine line between the modern reader and the historical pretence, and it comes off well. Shakespeare isn't easy for the modern mind to ingest: it's English, but to take it in requires translation from 1590s English to our modern variant. Barber says she wanted to avoid writing "cod Elizabethan", and she succeeds: between the approximate iambic pentameter and the narrator's poetic turns of phrase, the reader feels sufficient distance from traditional prose modern English to suggest authenticity.
Barber's poetry carries off corruption, sword fights, exile, ambition, distraction, disease, and disappointment. But love is where it really coruscates:
Marlowe falls in love several times, but for all the shiny ever-presence love it is still the tension of of the Marlowe-writing-as-Shakespeare subterfuge that powers the story. He creates, and he wishes to be recognised for his creation, but cannot be so. Shakespeare's characters are brought low by their tragic flaw, and Marlowe's is pride. I found myself wanting to shake him by his shoulders, a sign that the author has done a good job.
Barber has created a fascinating character, told a good self-powered story, and the treat of her poetry is icing on the cake. A keeper, highly recommended.
"The Marlowe Papers" is a novel in verse, telling the story of Kit Marlowe as spy who must fake his death and go into hiding, publishing poetry and plays under the name William Shakespeare. The temptation with fiction around an alternate history is to be coy about it, to slyly plant references to true people or events as winks to the reader. The trouble with conspiracy theories is that coincidences and conjunctions in reality are read as those winks: "it *must* be Marlowe writing as Shakespeare, look at all the hints he left us in the text!" Barber therefore has no need for winks, her fiction is played straight: Marlowe's diaries and letters about his life as Marlowe, then life on the lam hoping that James on the throne will let him return as Marlowe, are written honestly to the reader as confessions and not conspiracies. The conspiracy is the material from which the story is drawn.
But to dwell on the conspiracy is to miss the poetry, and that would be a shame. Barber walks a fine line between the modern reader and the historical pretence, and it comes off well. Shakespeare isn't easy for the modern mind to ingest: it's English, but to take it in requires translation from 1590s English to our modern variant. Barber says she wanted to avoid writing "cod Elizabethan", and she succeeds: between the approximate iambic pentameter and the narrator's poetic turns of phrase, the reader feels sufficient distance from traditional prose modern English to suggest authenticity.
Friend, I'm no one. If I write to you,
in fading light that distances the threat,
it's as a breeze that strokes the Channel's waves,
the spray that blesses some small vessel's deck.
[...]
London seduced me. Beckoned me her way
and spread herself beneath me, for a play.
[...]
This age abhors the truth. It beats it down
like a smart unruly servant, like a dog
whose eye reflects his master, club in hand
and poised to destroy him. Meanwhile, churches
with poisoned congregations, social ticks
who nod to each other, followers of faith
who don't believe the words, but sing the song.
Barber's poetry carries off corruption, sword fights, exile, ambition, distraction, disease, and disappointment. But love is where it really coruscates:
Alpine Letter
Love? If you'd asked me yesterday, I'd say
love is a saw that amputates the heart.
I'd call it my disease, I'd call it plague.
But yesterday, I hadn't heard from you.
So call it the weight of light that holds one soul
connected to another. Or a tear
that falls in all gratitude, becoming sea.
Call it the only word that comforts me.
The sight of your writing has me on the floor,
the curve of each letter looped about my heart.
And in this ink, the tenor of your voice.
And in this ink, the movement of your hand.
The Alps, now, cut their teeth upon the sky,
and pressing on to set these granite jaws
between us, not a mile will do me harm.
Your letter, in my coat, will keep me warm.
Marlowe falls in love several times, but for all the shiny ever-presence love it is still the tension of of the Marlowe-writing-as-Shakespeare subterfuge that powers the story. He creates, and he wishes to be recognised for his creation, but cannot be so. Shakespeare's characters are brought low by their tragic flaw, and Marlowe's is pride. I found myself wanting to shake him by his shoulders, a sign that the author has done a good job.
Barber has created a fascinating character, told a good self-powered story, and the treat of her poetry is icing on the cake. A keeper, highly recommended.
May 12, 2012
I thought this was a really interesting idea; a 'novel (if that's even the right word!) written entirely in Blank Verse. Obviously the subject matter was also one that interested me.
The book apparently formed part of Barber's PhD and her central theory is the one that playwright and intelligencer Christopher Marlowe did not in fact die in Deptford as supposed. Subsidiary to this is the idea that William Shakespeare was just a front man for a whole host of plays written by an exiled Marlowe. Despite appearing in a production of Doctor Faustus as a teenager, I will admit that I am not terribly au fait with the details of Marlowe's life but having read Barber's work and the notes at the back, I can see there is some mileage in the idea of him having not actually died as reported; certainly there appears something fishy going on. I'm less convinced by the idea that someone else 'must' have written Shakespeare's plays. If Marlowe could be successful as the son of a Kentish Cobbler, why can't we believe the same of the son of a Stratford glover? Be that as it may, that is the stance Barber has chosen to take and I can accept what she gives me for the purpose of her 'entertainment' of 'what might have happened'.
As to the book itself, it's about 400 pages long and I think it took about 100 of those before I felt I was really getting into it. I'm not sure if it was adjusting to the style of the work (I read some plays in Blank Verse, but I'm not a great poetry lover) or if the early section was more chronologically disjointed and more tricky to get into the swing of the action? I am glad I persevered though, as I did end up enjoying it. On the other hand, I can more than understand that some people won't find it their cup of tea at all - I don't think there is any other work, at least not in English, that is written in quite the same way. It certainly must have been a labour of love getting exactly the right words to make all that Iambic Pentameter work, so hats off to Barber on this score.
Now I feel like seeing if I can find a decent biography of Marlowe, and surely that can only be a good thing.
The book apparently formed part of Barber's PhD and her central theory is the one that playwright and intelligencer Christopher Marlowe did not in fact die in Deptford as supposed. Subsidiary to this is the idea that William Shakespeare was just a front man for a whole host of plays written by an exiled Marlowe. Despite appearing in a production of Doctor Faustus as a teenager, I will admit that I am not terribly au fait with the details of Marlowe's life but having read Barber's work and the notes at the back, I can see there is some mileage in the idea of him having not actually died as reported; certainly there appears something fishy going on. I'm less convinced by the idea that someone else 'must' have written Shakespeare's plays. If Marlowe could be successful as the son of a Kentish Cobbler, why can't we believe the same of the son of a Stratford glover? Be that as it may, that is the stance Barber has chosen to take and I can accept what she gives me for the purpose of her 'entertainment' of 'what might have happened'.
As to the book itself, it's about 400 pages long and I think it took about 100 of those before I felt I was really getting into it. I'm not sure if it was adjusting to the style of the work (I read some plays in Blank Verse, but I'm not a great poetry lover) or if the early section was more chronologically disjointed and more tricky to get into the swing of the action? I am glad I persevered though, as I did end up enjoying it. On the other hand, I can more than understand that some people won't find it their cup of tea at all - I don't think there is any other work, at least not in English, that is written in quite the same way. It certainly must have been a labour of love getting exactly the right words to make all that Iambic Pentameter work, so hats off to Barber on this score.
Now I feel like seeing if I can find a decent biography of Marlowe, and surely that can only be a good thing.
April 20, 2013
I picked this up browsing the new books at my library and was intrigued by the idea of reading an argument for Marlowe's authorship of the Shakespeare plays as well as interested in a book written in [poetry in iambic pentameter. Barber tells the story of Marlowe's life. At the beginning it jumps times frames between the past and present relaying Marlowe's early career, involvement with the government as a spy, and his eventual slow downfall from grace that leads to his faked death and exile.
I did enjoy this book and read it quickly even though the story itself is not really fast paced or action packed, but interesting to read and see how maybe Marlowe is Shakespeare. I found it helpful to flip back frequently to the notes at the end of the novel because I know very little about the theory and they helped enlighten me to when the novel was revealing evidence that support the theory of Marlowe as Shakespeare. I found the love story and Marlowe's pain in exile moving. Most of all, the poetry and different style of the novel was a great change of pace for me. Overall, an interesting story that makes you wonder if it's really true.
I did enjoy this book and read it quickly even though the story itself is not really fast paced or action packed, but interesting to read and see how maybe Marlowe is Shakespeare. I found it helpful to flip back frequently to the notes at the end of the novel because I know very little about the theory and they helped enlighten me to when the novel was revealing evidence that support the theory of Marlowe as Shakespeare. I found the love story and Marlowe's pain in exile moving. Most of all, the poetry and different style of the novel was a great change of pace for me. Overall, an interesting story that makes you wonder if it's really true.
July 30, 2013
I wish I could rate this 4.5 stars. I'm one of those English majors who believes Shakespeare actually was a real person and actually wrote (most of) the work for which he receives the credit. And I still really enjoyed this verse-novel and found myself wondering if maybe Ros Barber's version of history is closer to the truth. The poetry is really good and not difficult or tiring to read. I would have liked a bit more exciting espionage-y stuff and a bit more about the actual writing of the plays, but I nonetheless became very involved in the romantic subplot(s) and enjoyed the way Barber gleaned themes and ideas from Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. The result is a nice reciprocal relationship between the bard's works as we know them and the Marlovian world of the novel. I don't think you'll be too enthralled, however, if you aren't interested in or familiar with Shakespeare and/or the Elizabethan era. A surprisingly fast and fun read.
February 23, 2012
I'm not sure whether I am allowed to comment on this book, having had the freebee copy sent to a friend of mine passed on to me because she knew of my interest in Christopher Marlowe. But I will anyway, because I find Gilly P's comments so ridiculous. She rejects it because she calls it an "epic poem" rather than a "novel in verse". So what? Despite my disagreement with some of the story as told by Ros Barber, I found her telling of it excellent, and read it in one sitting. It is a story which of course may or may not be true, but what a splendid tale it is. And we all write a 'poem' from time to time, but Ros Barber has the ability to write verse in a way that gets me saying "Oh, I wish I could do that!" Having for several years given poetry readings at my local theatre - blank verse a speciality - I would simply love to have the chance to perform it myself. What more can I say?
March 25, 2013
This book was a mixed bag for me.
Whilst I enjoyed the verse style of the writing I did find some of it to be somewhat lacklustre - having said that maintaining such a style for such a long book cannot be easy by any stretch. But therein lies another problem I had with the book - it's too long! I found that the first third was excellent, the middle third was okay but the last third became a bit of a slog. This is not because of the style but because of the story - I feel it had been dragged on for too long and lost my interest by the end.
As for the central idea of Marlowe being the author of certain other works - sorry but no. Maybe someone else - it's an area of history I don't know enough about - but I feel fairly secure in saying it wasn't Marlowe.
I was glad to have read it but glad to have finished it by the end.
Whilst I enjoyed the verse style of the writing I did find some of it to be somewhat lacklustre - having said that maintaining such a style for such a long book cannot be easy by any stretch. But therein lies another problem I had with the book - it's too long! I found that the first third was excellent, the middle third was okay but the last third became a bit of a slog. This is not because of the style but because of the story - I feel it had been dragged on for too long and lost my interest by the end.
As for the central idea of Marlowe being the author of certain other works - sorry but no. Maybe someone else - it's an area of history I don't know enough about - but I feel fairly secure in saying it wasn't Marlowe.
I was glad to have read it but glad to have finished it by the end.
November 6, 2016
"The New Oxford Shakespeare edition of the playwright’s works — which will be published by Oxford University Press online ahead of a worldwide print release — lists Christopher Marlowe as Shakespeare’s co-author on the three “Henry VI” plays, parts 1, 2 and 3" ~ NYT
This very interesting bit of news came out after I'd ordered _The Marlowe Papers_ so reading it had an extra layer. I was wary at first. I've only read one other contemporary novel in verse, and it was brief and wonderful. I thought lightening could not strike twice, but it did - not bolts but, still, bright sheet lightening. I kept thinking, This IS clever. The writing can get too lush with simile - just so many ways to describe a smile and then it seems as if Barber is trying too hard - but a small complaint for such a demanding approach.
This very interesting bit of news came out after I'd ordered _The Marlowe Papers_ so reading it had an extra layer. I was wary at first. I've only read one other contemporary novel in verse, and it was brief and wonderful. I thought lightening could not strike twice, but it did - not bolts but, still, bright sheet lightening. I kept thinking, This IS clever. The writing can get too lush with simile - just so many ways to describe a smile and then it seems as if Barber is trying too hard - but a small complaint for such a demanding approach.
April 14, 2013
I tried to read this. I thought the book had a smart, clever premise because it was written entirely in iambic pentameter which is a feat in and of itself. I was going to write this review in iambic pentameter but my computer just glitched on me and I lost my brilliant work. I give up. The novel picks up shortly after Christopher Marlowe was murdered, but actually his death was faked. He flees to the continent where he continues to write poems, plays, and other works under the name of William Shakespeare and flashes back and forth between Marlowe's past and present. I did not feel that the plot captured my attention as it should have, and when I had two and a half snow days and could not make it past the first 150 pages I took it as a sign that the book was not for me.
March 28, 2013
Early Modern era fans take not: a significant feat in which Ros Barber writes a novel, starring Christopher Marlowe, in blank verse. Kit, in this alternate world, does not die in a tavern in Deptford, but stages his death, escapes to the continent, and writes all of Shakespeare. Despite the literary devices and potential for twee the book flows beautifully, and shouldn't offend, except for those most die-hard Shakespearean-authorship axe-grinders. Highly recommended. If you would like a well-researched and entertaining account of the Shakespeare controversies I also highly recommend the non-fiction CONTESTED WILL: WHO WROTE SHAKESPEARE, by James Shapiro.
May 24, 2013
Really good. Probably better read in paper format as the Kindle can't handle the layout of iambic pentameter and I suspect you lose something in that. I love a book that challenges my beliefs and this one certainly has. Never thought I could be a Marlovian. Shakespeare has always been an icon. AND I'd never known the difference between burglary and robbery, or the importance of Psalm 51 to these crimes. I do love a book that teaches me something even when I don't realise I'm learning. Absolutely recommended reading.
February 28, 2014
I give this 2.5 stars.
It took me a very long time to read this book. About 6 months. I kept starting and stopping.
I think it's very impressive that Barber wrote it all in verse, but reading it was very tiresome and I almost gave up. I felt like the whole time I was waiting for something that made me understand why Marlowe could be Shakespeare, but it never came.
So...in my opinion a boring story that was very impressively written. The idea of the book certainly appealed to me more than the execution.
It took me a very long time to read this book. About 6 months. I kept starting and stopping.
I think it's very impressive that Barber wrote it all in verse, but reading it was very tiresome and I almost gave up. I felt like the whole time I was waiting for something that made me understand why Marlowe could be Shakespeare, but it never came.
So...in my opinion a boring story that was very impressively written. The idea of the book certainly appealed to me more than the execution.
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