Christopher Marlowe

by John Bakeless

Christopher Marlowe as dramatist, poet and Elizabethan man-of-affairs. THIS TITLE IS CITED AND RECOMMENDED Catalogue of the Lamont Library, Harvard College.

357 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neato! I can’t say it’s reliable, as the author goes on a lot about hypotheticals given we really don’t know much about Marlowe’s life, but incredibly entertaining with so much individual research that has been essential to understanding Marlowe’s life. It is a hallmark in Marlowe’s biographical studies, undoubtably. That, and the author says “a letter which is one of the most pathetic of all the pathetic documents” which made me laugh wayyy too much in the middle of a dead-quiet library.

[Jinjifore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the first extensive biographies of Marlowe to be published after Leslie Hotson's The Death of Christopher Marlowe. As such, it has the benefit of more complete information about Marlowe's life and death than some of the earlier efforts. Bakeless's work is also notable for his examination of the buttery records at Corpus Christi college during Marlowe's time as a student. His research into the records shows a number of apparent gaps in Marlowe's actual residence, providing supporting evidence regarding Marlowe's difficulty in obtaining his degree.[return][return]Unfortunately, Bakeless pads this work with long digressions speculating on Marlowe's early life, and with fanciful musings on how he might have been influenced by the everyday life of Canterbury and by his family. On the whole, the book is worth reading, especially for the information about Marlowe's time at Corpus Christi, but be wary when the author launches into fantasy.