Reckoning [Import] [Paperback]

Charles Nicholl (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: VINTAGE (RAND); New Ed edition (December 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099437473
• ISBN-13: 978-0099437475
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.1 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,509,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly written and entertaining, July 23, 2002

By A Customer

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This review is from: The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe (Paperback)

Contrary to what one reviewer (if we can use that word, since he or she obviously didn't read the book) says, the mystery of Marlowe's death has not ceased to be fascinating. There are several reasons for this, as Nicholl makes abundantly clear: first, the debt owed to any human being whose death has not been clarified; second, the light this murder throws on the workings of the Elizabethan espionage system, and Marlowe's relation to it; third, the fact that he wasn't just anyone - he was a gifted writer, and we all lost something by his dying so young.

Nicholl's work leaves nothing to be desired: it is at the same time scholarly and awfully entertaining. The man obviously knows his subject. The Marlowe that emerges is not the brilliant if somewhat rebellious youth that we used to think of, but a less likeable, more unsavoury character. But, as Nicholl says somewhere in the book, can we really burden him with the weight of our own expectations? He was a man of his time, and, although we might regret having to put the spy side by side with the playwright, he may not have seen it that way: it was a question of going or not going hungry. I would say that I altogether prefer the fuller picture, even if it's not the most pleasant one.

"The Reckoning" is abundantly researched and very well written, and is one of the few books I have lately read, which I did not want to finish.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poetry, Espionage and Murder, July 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe (Paperback)

The death (possible murder) of Christopher Marlowe is one of the most fascinating of all true crimes. Set in Elizabethan London with a cast of characters that include William Shakespeare, "The Reckoning" provides a intriguing explantion for the events of that strange day when after hours of drink and talk, Kit Marlowe ended up dead, stabbed through the eye. The official story: a quarrel over the bill or reckoning. But mix in politics, espionage (Marlowe was a spy), homosexuality and literary genuis and the official story gets shaken to its tidy core. This is a very fine work, thoughtful, well-researched and crisp, capturing the time and place effectively and believably, and providing a rational context for the known events. Apart from the loss of Marlowe's death at the height of his genius, the story provides a compelling view of the murkier side of life among the young bloods of the aging Elizabeth's world. Not only a class A unsolved mystery, "The Reckoning" is also important resource for serious readers of late 16th c. poetry and drama. NB: Marlowe is the only playwrite Shakespeare quoted in one of his own works -- a sign of respectful rivalry.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nice little historical who dun it! utterly brilliant work, November 23, 2003

By 

Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe (Paperback)

I love history and all the details. I also love riddles and mysteries. So, when someone combines both into a tale, as Charles Nicholl did, it's bound to please me. This book is the Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography and the Crime Writers' Gold Dagger Awards for non-fiction thriller - both well earned!!

Marlowe was a very controversial poet and playwright. In 1593, he was stabbed to death in a lodging house in Deptford. To say the least, the manner and circumstances of death was up to question. There was a violent quarrel concerning Marlowe's bill and the official finding has been called dubious at best.

Nicholl brings to life this historical riddle with style and ingenuity weaving facts, supposition and fiction into one wonderful mix. He presents a very complex study of Marlowe's death, but it is also a marvellous study of the seedier side of Elizabethan society.

Nicholl walks the masterful tightrope between historical study on Marlowe's murder, a well-written 'who dun it' and portrays with rich detail the period that leaves one wondering if he is not reincarnated!!

So buy it for the history, writers need to read it if they write about the period for it is also a scholarly work, but most of all sit back and enjoy a real British Who do it.