(Drivebycuriosity) - In the late 16th century England was in a crisis and on the brink of civil war. There was a conspiracy against Queen Elizabeth I. Fundamentalist Catholics wanted to turn England back into a Catholic regime and tried to import the bloody Spanish inquisition. Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots, conspired against her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England. She tried to murder her relative, overtake her throne and turn England back into a fundamentalist Catholic nation, with the help of the Pope and Philip I, the Most Catholic King of Spain. Allison Epstein turned the history into a spy thriller: "The Tip of the Hangman" ( amazon).
The plot focuses on Christopher Marlow, today known as poet, playwright and colleague of Shakespeare. As Marlow was just a petty student in Cambridge he got coaxed to work as a spy for the Queen against Mary and the Catholic conspirators. But Epstein`s Marlow did not turn into a Renaissance James Bond, quite the opposite, he was a pawn in a fierce political game. "The Tip" is a fable about a flawed person sucked into a vicious vortex - a dark and sinister story and a tragedy.
It seems that Epstein was inspired by John le Carre, but also by Marlowe`s own plays and even by Oscar Wilde. The novel transfers the reader back into a dangerous time. In the 16th century England was violent, bloody and life didn´t have much worth. Epstein´s descriptions of the Renaissance towns & manors are fascinating, especially the portrait of London: "Everywhere the thick scent of mildew and
burning wood and shit and piss and the blood, congealed and steaming,
that ran in viscous pools. So loud. So much."
I cared about Epstein`s Marlowe and suffered with him. I would be surprised if the book would not be turned into a major movie soon.
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