Kit Marlowe Mystery series
2021-Aug-07, Saturday 11:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
summeryewberryCrosspost from my tumblr.
I've just finished reading the first 10 books from M. J. Trow's Marlowe Mystery series. The books vary in quality, but all up I've absolutely enjoyed it.
It's historical fiction set in Elizabethan England, and revolves around the playwright Christopher Marlowe solving mysteries, working as a spy, and writing the plays he's known for today.
The language isn't completely period-accurate, but I assume that's to make it more readable for a modern audience to immerse themselves in. Still, it's solidly entertaining, with a fair amount of humour. It's decently well researched, although obviously with some forgivable creative licenses taken.
The series starts off with Christopher Marlowe at 18/19, a student at Corpus Christi, Cambridge University, which was at the time a direct path to a career in the church, except that Marlowe's dream is to become a playwright in London. A modern equivalent of that would be someone who studies law or politics, gets their Master's degree, and then decides to become famous with a death metal band instead.
Marlowe starts off as a young scholar who spends most of his time doing what he likes (rather than what his teachers want from him), including getting drunk, fighting, and sneaking in and out of his college after dark. His fellow students call him "Machiavel," and he's set up as a clever, cheeky troublemaker with a temper and impulse control issues. Luckily, trouble is a place in which he thrills at being; it excites him, and he has full confidence in his own abilities to handle anything.
But he's not without a heart, as much as some people around him might think so. He's a loyal friend and protective of the innocent. He has a sense of justice, and is willing to kill to put things right.
Marlowe is an atheist during a time when England was forcibly Protestant, at a time when churches still ruled daily life. As a result, the books mostly steer away from anything overly religious or supernatural, sticking with Marlowe's cynical, secular view.
Marlowe's homosexuality is hinted at, but there's no love interest in the first 10 books anyway (I haven't read the 11th). Whether that's believable to you or not, you'll have to judge for yourself. The books choose to focus on the mysteries that drive them, and on the world around Marlowe, rather than on any emotional inner life.
As the series goes on, you get to know Marlowe as someone who picks up skills like a sponge, who only needs to hear something, see something, or try something once in order to remember it. He's not always a reliable narrator, but he's always sympathetic. His relationships with the women around him are lovely, full of respect and empathy, partly because there's no kind of attraction there, and party because he grew up with five sisters, just as independent-minded as him.
There are plenty of historical figures who show up throughout the series, including William Shakespeare before he becomes famous. If you know your history that adds some nice little bonuses to the books, but it's not really necessary to know who these people are before reading the books.
The books:
Book 1: Dark Entry - Set just as Marlowe is finishing his Bachelor degree at Cambridge, with a murder mystery among the students and teachers there. The book ends with Sir Francis Walsingham recruiting Marlowe for Her Majesty's Secret Service, and thus begins his career as a spy.
Book 2: Silent Court - Kit's first mission: head towards the Netherlands to protect the King. He does this by joining a caravan troupe of travellers where he learns tricks and sleight-of-hand, things that will serve him well later in his career as a spy. Very little of the book takes place in the Netherlands, and the plot does a whole lot of meandering before you figure out where it's all leading, and with a disappointing ending it's my least favourite book of the series. However...
Book 3: Witch Hammer - Builds directly on the last book, with Marlowe needing to rebuild his confidence, so that makes book 2 retroactively better. Marlowe joins a travelling theatre troupe and immediately has his first play stolen. We meet a young Will Shakespeare in Warwickshire and prove that witches are not real, but evil hearts and minds certainly are.
Book 4: Scorpion's Nest - Marlowe is sent to Catholic France to track down a fugitive. It's the last book set in an academic setting, and it's full of wonderful characters, and Marlowe always needing to stay one step ahead of the suspicious college authorities. One of my favourites.
Book 5: Crimson Rose - Marlowe has finally graduated with his Master's degree and made it to London, where his play, Tamburlaine, is starting to gain attention. London is a riot of personalities, actors, familiar faces, crime, betrayal, breaking Shakespeare out of gaol, harbouring him as a fugitive, and Marlowe then having to clear his own name on top of it all. It's loud and entertaining, and my personal favourite of the series.
Book 6: Traitor's Storm - Marlowe is sent to the Isle of Wight to find out what happened to a fellow agent, and discovers a whole series of murders. The book involves the Spanish Armada, pirates, and again, a bunch of wonderful personalities.
Book 7: Secret World - We get a glimpse of Marlowe's family, before he is once again swept up in a murder investigation that has something to do with Francis Drake, the English privateer. As Marlowe does his own investigating he meets a Jewish jeweller, gets briefly arrested for murder and is inspired to write The Jew of Malta. There are seeds of Marlowe's eventual downfall by introducing Robert Poley, and ending with Marlowe having murder on the brain, but he's never anything other than sympathetic.
Book 8: Eleventh Hour - After the death of Sir Francis Walsingham, Marlowe sets out to prove it was murder. We meet the School of Night, a group of thinkers, occultists, and early scientists, and Marlowe begins work on his most spectacular play, Doctor Faustus. It's a more sombre book than the others in the series.
Book 9: Queen's Progress - Sent ahead of the queen to scout out locations, Marlowe discovers a series of violent attacks that are a little too conveniently arranged. Along the way, he's joined by friends old and new, which leads to Henslowe's crew staging their greatest production so far: placing Queen Elizabeth herself centre stage.
Book 10: Black Death - The plague rages through London, but it's not the only killer stalking the streets. Marlowe just can't let a mystery lie, even when he hates the victim. The book introduces Bedlam, and comes full circle by Marlowe returning to Cambridge. The difference between the man he was when he left from who he is now is stark.
Book 11: The Reckoning, came out in 2020, and I haven't read it yet, but with a title like that you know it's going to be the last of the series. I'm not planning to read it yet either, because I'm still enjoying labouring under the delusion that if I don't read it, it won't end as badly as history says it will. I'm only half joking.
It's not the greatest series ever, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the series as a whole. I've loved spending time with the characters and seeing their stories unfold. I almost wish there were more books in the middle there, with more historical characters and more adventures. I'm going to miss following this version of Kit Marlowe on his adventures.
Are the books meaningful or profound? Not really.
Are they historically accurate? Sometimes.
Are they entertaining? Oh, so much!
I've just finished reading the first 10 books from M. J. Trow's Marlowe Mystery series. The books vary in quality, but all up I've absolutely enjoyed it.
It's historical fiction set in Elizabethan England, and revolves around the playwright Christopher Marlowe solving mysteries, working as a spy, and writing the plays he's known for today.
The language isn't completely period-accurate, but I assume that's to make it more readable for a modern audience to immerse themselves in. Still, it's solidly entertaining, with a fair amount of humour. It's decently well researched, although obviously with some forgivable creative licenses taken.
The series starts off with Christopher Marlowe at 18/19, a student at Corpus Christi, Cambridge University, which was at the time a direct path to a career in the church, except that Marlowe's dream is to become a playwright in London. A modern equivalent of that would be someone who studies law or politics, gets their Master's degree, and then decides to become famous with a death metal band instead.
Marlowe starts off as a young scholar who spends most of his time doing what he likes (rather than what his teachers want from him), including getting drunk, fighting, and sneaking in and out of his college after dark. His fellow students call him "Machiavel," and he's set up as a clever, cheeky troublemaker with a temper and impulse control issues. Luckily, trouble is a place in which he thrills at being; it excites him, and he has full confidence in his own abilities to handle anything.
But he's not without a heart, as much as some people around him might think so. He's a loyal friend and protective of the innocent. He has a sense of justice, and is willing to kill to put things right.
Marlowe is an atheist during a time when England was forcibly Protestant, at a time when churches still ruled daily life. As a result, the books mostly steer away from anything overly religious or supernatural, sticking with Marlowe's cynical, secular view.
Marlowe's homosexuality is hinted at, but there's no love interest in the first 10 books anyway (I haven't read the 11th). Whether that's believable to you or not, you'll have to judge for yourself. The books choose to focus on the mysteries that drive them, and on the world around Marlowe, rather than on any emotional inner life.
As the series goes on, you get to know Marlowe as someone who picks up skills like a sponge, who only needs to hear something, see something, or try something once in order to remember it. He's not always a reliable narrator, but he's always sympathetic. His relationships with the women around him are lovely, full of respect and empathy, partly because there's no kind of attraction there, and party because he grew up with five sisters, just as independent-minded as him.
There are plenty of historical figures who show up throughout the series, including William Shakespeare before he becomes famous. If you know your history that adds some nice little bonuses to the books, but it's not really necessary to know who these people are before reading the books.
The books:
Book 1: Dark Entry - Set just as Marlowe is finishing his Bachelor degree at Cambridge, with a murder mystery among the students and teachers there. The book ends with Sir Francis Walsingham recruiting Marlowe for Her Majesty's Secret Service, and thus begins his career as a spy.
Book 2: Silent Court - Kit's first mission: head towards the Netherlands to protect the King. He does this by joining a caravan troupe of travellers where he learns tricks and sleight-of-hand, things that will serve him well later in his career as a spy. Very little of the book takes place in the Netherlands, and the plot does a whole lot of meandering before you figure out where it's all leading, and with a disappointing ending it's my least favourite book of the series. However...
Book 3: Witch Hammer - Builds directly on the last book, with Marlowe needing to rebuild his confidence, so that makes book 2 retroactively better. Marlowe joins a travelling theatre troupe and immediately has his first play stolen. We meet a young Will Shakespeare in Warwickshire and prove that witches are not real, but evil hearts and minds certainly are.
Book 4: Scorpion's Nest - Marlowe is sent to Catholic France to track down a fugitive. It's the last book set in an academic setting, and it's full of wonderful characters, and Marlowe always needing to stay one step ahead of the suspicious college authorities. One of my favourites.
Book 5: Crimson Rose - Marlowe has finally graduated with his Master's degree and made it to London, where his play, Tamburlaine, is starting to gain attention. London is a riot of personalities, actors, familiar faces, crime, betrayal, breaking Shakespeare out of gaol, harbouring him as a fugitive, and Marlowe then having to clear his own name on top of it all. It's loud and entertaining, and my personal favourite of the series.
Book 6: Traitor's Storm - Marlowe is sent to the Isle of Wight to find out what happened to a fellow agent, and discovers a whole series of murders. The book involves the Spanish Armada, pirates, and again, a bunch of wonderful personalities.
Book 7: Secret World - We get a glimpse of Marlowe's family, before he is once again swept up in a murder investigation that has something to do with Francis Drake, the English privateer. As Marlowe does his own investigating he meets a Jewish jeweller, gets briefly arrested for murder and is inspired to write The Jew of Malta. There are seeds of Marlowe's eventual downfall by introducing Robert Poley, and ending with Marlowe having murder on the brain, but he's never anything other than sympathetic.
Book 8: Eleventh Hour - After the death of Sir Francis Walsingham, Marlowe sets out to prove it was murder. We meet the School of Night, a group of thinkers, occultists, and early scientists, and Marlowe begins work on his most spectacular play, Doctor Faustus. It's a more sombre book than the others in the series.
Book 9: Queen's Progress - Sent ahead of the queen to scout out locations, Marlowe discovers a series of violent attacks that are a little too conveniently arranged. Along the way, he's joined by friends old and new, which leads to Henslowe's crew staging their greatest production so far: placing Queen Elizabeth herself centre stage.
Book 10: Black Death - The plague rages through London, but it's not the only killer stalking the streets. Marlowe just can't let a mystery lie, even when he hates the victim. The book introduces Bedlam, and comes full circle by Marlowe returning to Cambridge. The difference between the man he was when he left from who he is now is stark.
Book 11: The Reckoning, came out in 2020, and I haven't read it yet, but with a title like that you know it's going to be the last of the series. I'm not planning to read it yet either, because I'm still enjoying labouring under the delusion that if I don't read it, it won't end as badly as history says it will. I'm only half joking.
It's not the greatest series ever, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the series as a whole. I've loved spending time with the characters and seeing their stories unfold. I almost wish there were more books in the middle there, with more historical characters and more adventures. I'm going to miss following this version of Kit Marlowe on his adventures.
Are the books meaningful or profound? Not really.
Are they historically accurate? Sometimes.
Are they entertaining? Oh, so much!
