The Silent Woman

Nicholas Bracewell #6

by Edward Marston

Marston's new novel continues the adventures of Nicholas Bracewell, who handles details backstage for Lord Westfield's Men, an Elizabethan theater troupe. When a young woman is poisoned before she can deliver a message to Nicholas, he takes leave to pursue a mystery from his own childhood.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Crime, Tudor Period

381 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

A pseudonym used by Keith Miles
AKA A.E. Marston

Keith Miles (born 1940) is an English author, who writes under his own name and also historical fiction and mystery novels under the pseudonym Edward Marston. He is known for his mysteries set in the world of Elizabethan theatre. He has also written a series of novels based on events in the Domesday Book, a series of The Railway Detective and a series of The Home Front Detective.


Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal

Reviews

[Tony Gothard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A murder. Adultery and a parting of the ways in Elizabeth's mode. Good historical read

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1992, The Silent Woman is the 6th in the Nicholas Bracewell series of Elizabethan mysteries. The setting of the series, with the main character being the stage manager of a theatrical company, always makes for a fresh approach - even though the plot in this case takes Nicholas back to his home town for a few days. An excellent episode in the series.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

An errant wind during an outdoor performance at a London theater is just the first of a number of things that ultimately send the Lord Westfield players and company manager Nicholas Bracewell out of town. For Bracewell, it's the poisoning death of a young girl who came with a message for him, an assassin out to kill him and a clear, unspoken message that he must have come his native Devon. Its a message that he answers but it sets him on a path of danger and conflicted emotions and reflections on a past he would rather not review.

Meanwhile, the players have taken their shows on the roads and have met with much success, if it weren't for a scoundrel determined to not only take from them but to embarrass. But the players are made of sterner stuff and soon turn the tables on those against them.

If it were a tale told aboard a ship, it would be a true swashbuckler, but this is a mystery on solid ground. A good story to read and savor.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

We now have more of an insight into Nicholas Bracewell's past and his reasons for leaving Barnstaple.
Lord Westfield's men court yet more disaster and are forced to go on tour. Nicholas travels with them for part of their journey. However, he has his own troubles both in London and in Devon.
During his adventures, Nicholas is supported by his good friends in Westfield's Men, but loses someone important to him.
All through this book, we learn what a varied life Bracewell has had up to this point. I'm sure we'll learn more of this multi-faceted character with each consecutive story.

[Stuart McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading these books over twenty years ago when I picked up books 7 & 8 in the series for a couple of holiday reads. I have read the first 5 in the series, but it had been a while since I had read another. I've just finished The Silent Woman, which is book 6. I loved it. I think this is my favourite so far. I love the overall setting of a company of actors in Elizabethan times, I loved the intriguing murder mystery as well as the other plot lines involving other characters and then the whole thing up of the loose ends. A great read.

[Dan Harding · Rating 2 out of 5]

Highly readable, but as with the Railway Detective novels and The Queen's Head, a little glib; events happen easily and quickly without real conviction, and somehow the characters lack a real sense of emotional depth. A good yarn, but I want to be overwhelmed rather than simply entertained. Fun but forgettable.

[Andy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good storyline but I find the characters lacking in growth, rehashing the same behaviours and arguments.

[Annette O'grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very very good read loved the storyline

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up to a 4. He gets you with those names doesn't he?

[Matthew Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gripping and entertaining instalment in the Bracewell mystery series. The story is filled with deceit, action and adventure making it enjoyable to read in a single sitting.

[Joanne Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable holiday reads.

[Maria Thermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Edward Marston's "The Silent Woman", the 6th Nicholas Bracewell mystery set in Elizabethan London


The 6th of Edward Marston's splendid Elizabethan murder mysteries of his Nicholas Bracewell series reaches fever pitch in its intricate plotting and takes us back to the origins of Nicholas' life as a traveller and disavowed merchant's son from Devon. It is a wonderful murder mystery but also a great novel dealing with one man's soul searching and what people will - and won't - do for love.

Plot:

A mysterious youth arrives in London only to be murdered moments after arrival by being poisoned by a ruthless stranger, who has followed the messenger from Barnstaple to stop the youth meeting Nicholas Bracewell and telling him he is needed urgently back at home. The young messenger survives only long enough to reach Anne Hendrik's house, where Nicholas lodges, but dies before being able to tell him why he is needed back in Devon.

Meanwhile, a performance by the famed acting troupe Westfield's Men at the Queen's Head inn ends in disaster, when the stage is accidently set on fire and half the inn burns down. The enraged landlord evicts the actors without remorse or listening to their pleas. Bereft of their place of business and facing ruin, the actors have no choice but to leave London and play the provinces until the inn is repaired and they can return or at least find a new venue in London.

Surprisingly, the dead messenger turns out to be a young women, no older than 17, and it looks as if she may have been a servant. Nicholas vows revenge for the senseless death, but while he and Anne are busy dealing with the aftermath, the girl's murderer is busy making plans of his own. He will follow Lord Westfield's actors wherever their path leads them - and soon attack after attack on Nicholas' life follows.

Beset by one disappointment after the other, the players finally reach Bristol, where Nicholas and the theatre company go their separate ways. The actors will be leaving for Bath to give a performance for their patron's brother, while Nicholas must travel alone to Barnstaple to face up to past sins and the murderous villains who have hired the contract killer stalking him all the way to Bristol's seedy streets.

Various entertaining subplots ensure the reader is totally drawn into the Elizabethan world, drawn with amazing intricacy and historic detail. It's a wonderful read for fans of historical murder mysteries and despite it's slightly sad ending, one is left with the desire to read more and more of Nicholas and his merry troupe of actors. Three cheers for Edward Marston and Westfield's Men, for this was a truly great performance all round.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh, felt like I needed to put a book up here so I'm not making friends with a bunch of people on this thing with zero books read. Anyway, this is part of a series of books where an Elizabethan acting group (meaning really in Elizabethan times, not just a modern group performing old plays) solves mysteries. Besides getting a mystery, you get to see into the world of acting a few centuries ago. In The Silent Woman, the group accidently burn down their theatre so they have to go "on tour" to earn money. Many adventures are had, there's romance and a little violence and lots o' swashbuckling fun. A good book to read on the beach.

[Alanpalmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an other Elizabethan murder story with Westerfield's Players in centre stage. I use the term murder story not mystery as it is not so much a who dunnit as an adventure as an adventure and why done it. There are a couple of sub plots running through and more background dub up on some of the characters from the players. Once again the players are not welcome at their usual stage and they are fighting their own battle as a group as individual meme hrs fight their personal battles. After the first murder, Only one member of the team knows the identity of the silent woman and he must put himself in personal danger to protect the others and resolve the matter.

Not the greatest adventure story ever and not a whodunnit but a good historical adventure.

[Wayne Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been my favourite in the Elizabethan Mysteries series so far. Things had started to get a little predictable with the series, but this novel was different. I enjoyed how Nicholas Bracewell had to part ways with the company and go back to his roots - it really helped to flesh out the character as well as giving us all a change of direction for Westfield's men. The plot was exciting and the subplot of the company's tour was humourous. Overall a great, fun addition to the series and I hope that the next one continues without going back to the predictable situations of previous novels.

[Lise · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* actually. Quite a nice read, giving the story of Nick Bracewell, full of twist and turns. The bigger weakness is when Marston goes into more psychological territory: he wrote this book, like the previous ones, as a murder mystery and doesn't take enough time to develop the inner life of his characters to make the psychological aspects of the novel credible. So a good yarn, but a bit over ambitious.

[Vicky Thomasson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another thrilling adventure about Westfields men. This time they are to go on tour as they accidentally burn down half of The Queens Head. I never get bored of reading a Bracewell mystery and I really felt like I got to know more about Nicholas in this book. I think that book number 6 is probably the best one. Now for number 7...

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce livre fait partie d'une série policière élisabéthaine mettant en scène une troupe de théâtre et son régisseur. L'intrigue est bien ficelée et la plongée dans la vie de cette troupe de théâtre au 18ème siècle passionnante. Tous les amateurs de romans policiers historiques devraient aimer !

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Elizabethan mystery about the troupe of actors, The King's Men. They hit the road again, and in the course of events, Nick has to go back to his origins and face his mistakes. This also means he has to decide where his future lies, and it's not where you'd think!

[Cece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whipping through these at a rapid pace. Like a bag of potato chips, actually.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicolas Bracewell goes to Barnstaple to confront his past. Best book in series, so far. Nice fights, good plot, nice twists.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into this but enjoyed it once it got going.

[Karen Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Helene Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review - I think that, so far in this series, this one has been my least favourite. I loved the fact that we got to know more about Nicholas's past, but I felt that the mystery and the storyline weren't as well handled as in previous books in the series. It felt a bit dry at times. Nevertheless, the characters are still as engaging as ever and the book is still well worth a read.

Genre? - Historical / Mystery / Crime

Characters? - Nicholas Bracewell / Robert Bracewell / Mary Whetcombe / Matthew Whetcombe / Lawrence Firethorn / George Dart / Gideon Livermore / Edmund Hoode / Barnaby Gill

Setting? - London, Barnstaple & Bristol (England)

Series? - Nicholas Bracewell #5

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 16/20