The Devil's Apprentice

Nicholas Bracewell #11

by Edward Marston

London is in the grip of an icy winter and Westfield's Men are out of work. Invited to perform at a manor house in Essex, they accept willingly even though the offer comes with two conditions: they must perform an entirely new play and agree to take a new apprentice, Davy Stratton, into the company.

At first it seems as though Davy is a talented and eager addition to the theater troupe. However, he soon disrupts the group's camaraderie when he quarrels with the other apprentices and runs away on a reconnaissance trip to Essex. Nicholas Bracewell just manages to hold the group together during the rehearsals for their new play, The Witch of Colchester. But when the lead actor succumbs to a series of strange illnesses, identical to those which afflict his character in the play, some members of Westfield's Men fear there may be a witch among them. Then a prominent audience member dies during the opening night performance, and Nicholas Bracewell has to confront the deadliest foe of all.

Rich in historical detail and wonderfully evoking the golden age of theater, The Devil's Apprentice is an exciting, suspenseful addition to this Edgar nominated series.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Crime, Audiobook, Tudor Period

288 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

A pseudonym used by Keith Miles
AKA A.E. Marston

Keith Miles (born 1940) is an English author, who writes under his own name and also historical fiction and mystery novels under the pseudonym Edward Marston. He is known for his mysteries set in the world of Elizabethan theatre. He has also written a series of novels based on events in the Domesday Book, a series of The Railway Detective and a series of The Home Front Detective.


Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal

Reviews

[Gintautas Ivanickas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Žiema, šalta. Lordo Westfieldo globojama aktorių trupė sėdi be darbo. Savo teatro neturi – vaidindavo smuklės kieme, o per šalčius ne kažką pavaidinsi. Pavaidint tai dar gal pavaidintum, bet kur rasi tokių teatro gerbėjų, kad šaldytų savo subines ir dar už tai susimokėtų? Ir čia kaip dovanėlė iš dangaus nukrenta pasiūlymas – suvaidinti šešias pjeses Esekse, dvarininko namuose. Šilumoj ir už gerus pinigus. Bet visada yra koks nors „bet“. Trupei iškeliamos dvi sąlygos – priimti mokiniu pirklio sūnų ir suvaidinti vieną naują, dar niekur nestatytą pjesę. Bracewellas atranda pjesę, tiesa, ją reikia kiek pakoreguoti, tačiau autorius neprieštarauja. O su mokiniu – dar paprasčiau: viens, ir priimtas. Deja, nuo tos akimirkos, kai jaunasis Dave‘as prisijungia prie trupės, prasideda kažkokia velniava. Pagrindinį aktorių ištinka visos bėdos, kurios ištinka ir jo vaidinamą naujosios pjesės herojų. O ir mokinukas kelia daugiau rūpesčių, nei užima vietos. Tarsi to negana, Esekse kai kas aktorių labai nelaukia. Taip labai, kad pasiryžęs daug kam, kad tik jie neatvyktų, o jei atvyks, neapsidžiaugtų.
Kaip visoje Bracewell‘o serijoje, taip ir čia, viskas vyksta Elžbietos (anos, pirmosios) valdymo laikais. Detektyvinių linijų galima suskaičiuoti net tris. Tiesa, viena kelia daug klausimų, bet aiškintis netenka, atėjus laikui herojams viskas tiesiog papasakojama. Antroji – irgi šiaip sau. Nusikaltėlius žinome iš anksto, ne baisi paslaptis jie ir herojams, gal kiek liūdniau su įrodymais, bet jie irgi beveik savaime krenta į rankas. Trečioji – ir išvis labiau mistinė, nei detektyvinė. Bet parašyta viskas gana smagiai.
Keturi iš penkių. Gal skystoki, bet keturi.

[Helene Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review - I think that this is one of the best of the series so far because I just couldn't put it down. You know if you can put a book down that it's not engaging enough, but this didn't have that fault. I loved the way that the characters came together to overcome adversity and to be the best that they could be. Marston also seems to be at the peak of his writing performance as it is engaging and descriptive, allowing the theatre performances to really come into the open and feel as if I'm really there.

Genre? - Historical / Crime / Mystery

Characters? - Nicholas Bracewell / Lawrence Firethorn / Owen Elias / James Ingram / Barnaby Gill / Anne Hendrik / George Dart / Richard Honeydew

Setting? - London (England)

Series? - Nicholas Bracewell #11

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 19/20

[Soozee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent series, and I have really enjoyed each one. Historically accurate, they give a very different perspective on Tudor life, whilst including an interesting whodunnit element. Well worth a read.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 2001, 'The Devil's Apprentice' is 11th in the series of mysteries set mainly around an acting company in Elizabethan London. These stories tend to rely more on the interactions between a cast of eccentric characters rather than the plot. In this story, this is even more pronounced as the plot is unusually daft. However, in addition the plot is this time set outside London, and this has the affect of reducing the level of interaction between cast members, since so many regulars have to be left behind in London. Still enjoyable, but not nearly as good as some of the others in the series.

[Kirstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good read and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was seemingly book 11 and I didn't know any of the previous ones but it didn't hamper my enjoyment. It was well written, a good bunch of characters, some quite humorous, some quite sinister and the story flowed easily
Another good read by Edward Marston!

[BeesReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable, easy read.

The players take on a young apprentice who seems to have an odd relationship with his father, they are invited to Essex to perform in a private house, and have several run ins with a couple of Puritans in Essex, near fatal on a couple of occasions.

Nicholas 'Mr Goody Twoshoes' Bracewell saves the day.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, but I felt the solution was unconvincing and didn’t address all the loose ends. I might try to look out for some of the books earlier in the series, though, as I found the characters quite likeable.

[Yva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quaint little crime mystery had me wondering till the end. As a pre-teen, I'd demolish 800 page books in mere days. As an adult, I struggle to finish a 200 page collection in a month. I had so much simplistic fun with this one, I finished it within 2 days.

[Pauline Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good historical thriller set in Tudor England

[Annette O'grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

i found this book very intriguing and a very good mystery

[Debby Sutcliffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A star deducted for the black swan putting in an appearance at the beginning of Chapter 4 - two centuries before its time……. Otherwise a thoroughly good read as ever.

[Matthew Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining and easy read. This novel story is filled with action and adventure as well as witty plots and humorous and interesting characters.

[Tahieuba Chaudhry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book that I am reviewing is book 11 from The Bracewell Mysteries. Though I really should have started with the first book The Queen’s Head to find out the back story of the Westfield’s Men, Marston makes my job easier. Within the first chapter of The Devil’s Apprentice the reader is introduced (or reintroduce if you’ve been following the series) to the main characters. Nicholas Bracewell the theatre book holder, leading actor Lawrence Firethorn, Edmund Hoode the playwright, the clown Barnaby Gill and actor Owen Elias, each distinct in character.

So who is the Devil’s Apprentice? The reader and with Lawrence’s constant conviction believes it to be the newly appointed apprentice Davy Stratton. After all as soon as they arrive in Essex’s for their work Davy begins to act strange and cause mischief within the company and on numerous occasion sneaks out. Alas, Nicholas sees this situation differently by piecing the clues together. The new play, The Witch of Colchester, written by a disgruntled lawyer Edgiys Pyre, is full of witchcraft and malady that Lawrence, playing the lead role is affected by the play by losing his voice and experiencing uncontrollable fits. The Puritans leader Reginald Orr in Essex regards theatre people as devils incarnate and would do anything to send them back to Hell. At the home of Sir Michael Greenleaf where Westfield’s Men stage six plays in ten days, the household steward Rombard Taylard has a shady past and Jerome Stratton’s harsh temperament to make Davy work with the theatre company.

Clearly, Marston has a reverent passion for 16th century England. Themes such as Puritans, church, witchcraft and fornication is a great mix. He without a doubt captures the gentlemen mannerisms of that era from Nicholas. He is a likeable character, charming, polite, analytical (which makes him such a great detective), he distinctively has a profound and close friendship with Lawrence and Owen but is courteous and helpful to the other members. There is also a substantial balance of description of emotions and surroundings with cleverly put together dialogue.

So I can keep on praising the book but I have to say things which I didn’t like. The climax or the revelation to the mystery surrounding Davy’s continence disappearance is revealed and I felt that it was rushed into the last chapter 12. Nicholas confrontation with Taylard was a bit predictable for we all know the protagonist would get the upper hand.

I’m going to start reading the Bracewell mysteries starting with book 1 The Queen’s Head. I would definitely recommend this story to other history buffs with a passion for crime stories.

Rating: 4/5
First publication: August 20th 2001, St. Martin's Minotaur
Second Publication: February 13th 2014, Allison and Busby
Genre: History/Mystery

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title is about Westfield's Men trying to survive a bitter winter where they are unable to perform outdoors at their regular theatre. They are invited to Essex to perform at the home of a wealthy gentleman, and asked to take on a new apprentice and a perform a new play while there.

The apprentice seems to love his new life, but makes himself very unwelcome and continually runs away. The play seems to be causing illness. The local Puritans in Essex do not like the existence of players, and are intent on disrupting their visit further. Nicholas Bracewell sorts out all the difficulties and the actors have another rousing success.

Pretty good story, a little more fleshed out than some of the stories have been.

[Suzane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Library book
This is book 11 in the Nicholas Bracewell series

Not my favorite book in this series. The entire witchcraft theme (Firethorn's illnesses, linked to the spells in the play) was extremely superficial - no satisfactory explanation was ever given. I had no sympathy for the apprentice at all, and thought him a totally unlikeable character - a conniving, snivelling, mean-spirited momma's boy. There was a definite resemblence to the father!

Good job that Westfield's Men were able to survive this adventure (mostly) intact, and good riddance to the apprentice!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining. I liked the characters, especially the various actors, and the historical detail was very good. The mystery was good up until the end, when all the threads wrapped up too quickly, but otherwise I liked it very much. By accident this was my first of the series, but I'm eager to read others.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series for its setting - in the theatrical world of Shakespeare's contemporaries.
This one is set in Essex, too.
The plot rattles along over creaky dialogue and improbable twists.
Didn't see the dénouement coming, though.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite historical mysteries, while not the best of the series, still an excellent book - marvelous characters, rich details, clever plotting.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay story of play that contains witch’s spells actually working on the performers. Young boy joins the troupe. Not well tied together, but interesting.

[Charlie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Vicky Thomasson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always enjoy reading the Nicholas Brace mysteries and this one was just as good as the others. You know who the bad guys are from the beginning but it doesn't spoil it.