The Mad Courtesan - Softcover

Marston, Edward

3.78

255 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0449222462 ISBN 13: 9780449222461

Publisher: Fawcett, 1994

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"A heady romp, solidly grounded on fascinating historical detail." Kirkus Reviews
The axe murder of gentleman player Sebastian Carrick is only the first of many bitter blows to strike the celebrated acting troupe of Westfield's Men. In these straits, only one man has the wit to keep the company afloat -- stage manager and company mainstay Nicholas Bracewell. And as Good Queen Bess sinks ever-closer to death, only clever Nicholas can find the connection between the troupe's misfortunes and the shadow that is falling over all of England . . . .

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About the Author:

Keith Miles, aka Edward Marston and Martin Inigo, came from Wales to read Modern History at Oxford. He has been a university lecturer, radio, television, and theatre dramatist, and in addition to writing has worked as an actor, director, and dramatist. He is the author of two mystery series, one Elizabethan in background, the other revolving around the Domesday census of 1086 A.D., and has written mysteries with golf and sports backgrounds under his real name as well as Murder in Prespective, 1997. His Elizabethan novel, The Roaring Boy, was a 1996 Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee for Best Novel. The author is a well known host and raconteur at mystery events and is the 1997 Chairman of the Crime Writers Association. When not travelling or fulfilling speaking engagements, he lives in rural isolation in Kent.

From Publishers Weekly:

Stage manager Nicholas Bracewell must juggle his company, his patron and a murder investigation in Marston's fifth Elizabethan-era theater mystery, which features political intrigue along with low and high comedy. Fellow actors in a troupe called Westfield's Men, Owen Elias and Sebastian Carrick are both considered for the coveted position of shareholder. Chief actor and leading shareholder Lawrence Firethorn decides to back Carrick, but before the successful candidate can learn of his good fortune, he is killed returning from a brothel. At the funeral, Bracewell promises Carrick's sister that he will find the murderer. Concurrently the future of Westfield's Men is in question as rumors circulate that Queen Elizabeth is dying: perhaps a new monarch might not be a drama lover, or might favor a rival patron. While Bracewell tackles these issues, gnarly Cornelius Gant and his wonder horse Nimbus catch the public's fancy, and a mystery woman tempts Firethorn to miss a performance. Marston ( The Nine Giants ) expertly juggles murder, the theater setting and the historical background of not-so-merry old England.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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