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A Fine Madness
'A masterful storyteller with an intricate knowledge of his subject.' The Daily Telegraph
'Alan Judd knows more about the secret world than any other writer living. To have him turn his expert eye on the world of Christopher Marlowe – and on Francis Walsingham, the Elizabethan George Smiley – is a special kind of literary treat.' Mick Herron
‘Absolutely spellbinding. I gobbled it up in two days and could not stop' Miranda Seymour
Danger and dissent stalk the streets and taverns of Elizabethan England. The Queen’s chief spymaster, Francis Walsingham, and his team of agents must maintain the highest levels of vigilance to ward off Catholic plots and the ever-present threat of invasion. One operative in particular - a young Cambridge undergraduate of humble origins, controversial beliefs and literary genius who goes by the name of Kit Marlowe - is relentless in his pursuit of intelligence for the Crown. When he is killed outside an inn in Deptford, his mysterious death becomes the subject of rumours and suspicion that are never satisfactorily resolved.
Years later, Thomas Phelippes, a former colleague of Marlowe’s and a man once much valued by Walsingham, finds himself imprisoned in the Tower. When he is visited by an emissary of the new king, however, it becomes clear that his long fall from favour may be reversed if he will furnish his monarch with every detail he is able to recall about his murdered friend’s life and death. But just what is it that so fascinates King James about the famously mercurial playwright-spy, and does Phelippes know enough to secure his own redemption?
Virtuosic, gripping and meticulously researched, award-winning writer Alan Judd turns is at the peak of his powers in this remarkable novel about a literary genius whose short-life and violent death composed one of the most fascinating unresolved mysteries of all time.
'Alan Judd knows more about the secret world than any other writer living. To have him turn his expert eye on the world of Christopher Marlowe – and on Francis Walsingham, the Elizabethan George Smiley – is a special kind of literary treat.' Mick Herron
‘Absolutely spellbinding. I gobbled it up in two days and could not stop' Miranda Seymour
Danger and dissent stalk the streets and taverns of Elizabethan England. The Queen’s chief spymaster, Francis Walsingham, and his team of agents must maintain the highest levels of vigilance to ward off Catholic plots and the ever-present threat of invasion. One operative in particular - a young Cambridge undergraduate of humble origins, controversial beliefs and literary genius who goes by the name of Kit Marlowe - is relentless in his pursuit of intelligence for the Crown. When he is killed outside an inn in Deptford, his mysterious death becomes the subject of rumours and suspicion that are never satisfactorily resolved.
Years later, Thomas Phelippes, a former colleague of Marlowe’s and a man once much valued by Walsingham, finds himself imprisoned in the Tower. When he is visited by an emissary of the new king, however, it becomes clear that his long fall from favour may be reversed if he will furnish his monarch with every detail he is able to recall about his murdered friend’s life and death. But just what is it that so fascinates King James about the famously mercurial playwright-spy, and does Phelippes know enough to secure his own redemption?
Virtuosic, gripping and meticulously researched, award-winning writer Alan Judd turns is at the peak of his powers in this remarkable novel about a literary genius whose short-life and violent death composed one of the most fascinating unresolved mysteries of all time.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 18, 2021
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About the author
Alan Judd
34 books63 followersAlan Judd is a pseudonym used by Alan Edwin Petty.
Born in 1946, he graduated from Oxford University and served as a British Army officer in Northern Ireland during 'The Troubles', before later joining the Foreign Office; he currently works as a security analyst. He regularly contributes articles to a number of publications, including The Daily Telegraph, and The Spectator as its motoring correspondent. His books include both fiction and non-fiction titles, with his novels often drawing on his military background.
He lives in Sussex with his wife and daughter.
Born in 1946, he graduated from Oxford University and served as a British Army officer in Northern Ireland during 'The Troubles', before later joining the Foreign Office; he currently works as a security analyst. He regularly contributes articles to a number of publications, including The Daily Telegraph, and The Spectator as its motoring correspondent. His books include both fiction and non-fiction titles, with his novels often drawing on his military background.
He lives in Sussex with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
March 16, 2024
To ourselves, we are always the heart of our own stories . . . But as individuals we are clods of mud dropped from the wheel of Fate, which carries us we know not where and leaves us where it pleases.
Mis(sub)titled as "A Christopher Marlowe Murder Mystery" this historical novel is told from the perspective of a jailed friend of Marlowe's, who worked with him at the time of Queen Elizabeth. There is a vastly interesting historical background (the shades of drama between Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots, etc.) but this novel is very static, being almost entirely the account of that one person from his jail cell.
There were wonderful moments, such as the one above from the start of the book, and the following quote from p. 181:
We all feel we are at the centre of our circle, the circle that is us. But it's the boundaries that make us what we are. It's the line, the boundary, that makes the circle. Draw it differently, and the centre is moved and we are different. Take away that line, that boundary, and what is left? A being capable of becoming anything, depending on where the line is drawn.
There were also observations about rumours and conspiracy theories that are very relevant today. It's a fine novel, but Christopher Marlowe remains a mysterious and elusive figure, and by the end of the book [here be spoilers] the murder mystery is still unresolved — plus there is added an additional mystery: Why is King James so very interested in this tale?
Mis(sub)titled as "A Christopher Marlowe Murder Mystery" this historical novel is told from the perspective of a jailed friend of Marlowe's, who worked with him at the time of Queen Elizabeth. There is a vastly interesting historical background (the shades of drama between Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots, etc.) but this novel is very static, being almost entirely the account of that one person from his jail cell.
There were wonderful moments, such as the one above from the start of the book, and the following quote from p. 181:
We all feel we are at the centre of our circle, the circle that is us. But it's the boundaries that make us what we are. It's the line, the boundary, that makes the circle. Draw it differently, and the centre is moved and we are different. Take away that line, that boundary, and what is left? A being capable of becoming anything, depending on where the line is drawn.
There were also observations about rumours and conspiracy theories that are very relevant today. It's a fine novel, but Christopher Marlowe remains a mysterious and elusive figure, and by the end of the book [here be spoilers] the murder mystery is still unresolved — plus there is added an additional mystery: Why is King James so very interested in this tale?
December 17, 2021
Alan Judd's A Fine Madness, which is being republished in February 2022, has received mixed reviews on GoodReads, which I think is more about genre expectations that about the quality of the novel itself, which is first-rate. Marginally, A Fine Madness is a mystery novel: it's a imagined recounting of the espionage career and murder of the Elizabethan writer and sometimes intelligencer Christopher Marlowe by Elizabeth I's top code-breaker Thomas Phelippes. But primarily, this is a novel about faith and mortality and the ways a tight connection between faith and State can force individuals into internal contortions—and sometimes external ones as well.
The set-up here is that Phelippes is writing while imprisoned in the tower near the end of his life. A representative of James I has approached Phelippes saying the monarch wants to learn all Phelippes knows about Marlow, but without providing any context that could direct the flow of Phelippes' reminiscences. As Phelippes narrates his tale, he finds himself pondering Marlowe's approach to religion, particularly his views of mortality.
Phelippes is a cautious, conventional man in contrast to the firebrand Marlowe, who chooses to walk along every precipitous edge he can find, but the two build a warm, if at arms-length relationship. Phelippes frets over the risks Marlowe takes; Marlowe is gentle with Phelippes in ways he isn't with others.
If you're a reader expecting an action-packed tale of Elizabethan skullduggery, you're going to find this kind of ruminative novel unsatisfying. But if you're ready for a novel that makes you think about the issues that trouble Marlowe—and later Phelippes—you're in for a very rewarding experience. This is the kind of novel that merits more than a single reading and the repays readers' efforts in proportion to those efforts. Don't let the lack of swashbuckling blind you to the gem this novel truly is.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
The set-up here is that Phelippes is writing while imprisoned in the tower near the end of his life. A representative of James I has approached Phelippes saying the monarch wants to learn all Phelippes knows about Marlow, but without providing any context that could direct the flow of Phelippes' reminiscences. As Phelippes narrates his tale, he finds himself pondering Marlowe's approach to religion, particularly his views of mortality.
Phelippes is a cautious, conventional man in contrast to the firebrand Marlowe, who chooses to walk along every precipitous edge he can find, but the two build a warm, if at arms-length relationship. Phelippes frets over the risks Marlowe takes; Marlowe is gentle with Phelippes in ways he isn't with others.
If you're a reader expecting an action-packed tale of Elizabethan skullduggery, you're going to find this kind of ruminative novel unsatisfying. But if you're ready for a novel that makes you think about the issues that trouble Marlowe—and later Phelippes—you're in for a very rewarding experience. This is the kind of novel that merits more than a single reading and the repays readers' efforts in proportion to those efforts. Don't let the lack of swashbuckling blind you to the gem this novel truly is.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
May 4, 2021
I’m always interested in books about the Elizabethan spymasters and the various catholic plots to overthrow the Queen, so this sounded well worth reading. However, it was very disappointing. Far better to read either The Watchers for a non-fiction account of Walsingham’s spymasters or The Reckoning for the mystery surrounding Christopher Marlowe’s death.
August 25, 2021
This was supposed to be a page-turner, so it is mind-boggling to me how boring it was. Spying, a mysterious death, murder plots, and yet it plodded along, and the spying consisting of carrying letters around. Thrilling it was not. As for the circumstances of Marlowe’s death, a quick google has informed me that there is historical dispute over what happened, and the author, for some bizarre reason, has gone for the most boring possible explanation. Even the style in which it was written was tiresome. Sheer drudgery.
October 10, 2022
Oh, I really liked this. I think it helped that I know little enough of Marlowe to begin with that I wasn’t irked about errors or fabrications in his biography. If anything, the book has inspired me to read more about Marlowe.
What I also really like is that this book could have been a thriller of derring do and using Kit as and “action hero”. Judd doesn’t do this. This is told by a character (a specialist in cyphers and fellow “spy”) who is imprisoned in the Tower and is interviewed by someone 30 years after Marlowe’s death. The interview is being conducted apparently about Marlowe by order of the King.
It’s all about Kit’s character and more so his way of thinking, with his search for honesty (and whether it can be found in religion) in the foreground.
The suspense element is built around us not knowing why Thomas is being questioned about Marlowe.
It does become clear in the last chapter but in keeping with the espionage theme and the vagueness and ambiguity of what each of the characters say to each other, it is never spelled out for the reader.
Apart from the investigation into Marlowe’s thinking and character (both of which I thought were done really well), I loved the structure and style in which the story was told. I totally felt immersed in the Jacobean politics and plotting that made it impossible to trust any of the characters completely. Judd pitched this against the main character describing Marlowe’s search for truth in everything, which I felt was a superb contrast to the description of the environment in which Marlowe lived.
The ending also really worked for me. It finally touches on a point that other books such as Tamburlaine Must Die have picked up about Marlowe, but I really liked how Judd deals with it. Again, it seemed that Judd acknowledges that too little fact is known to be certain of much about Marlowe, and that speculation may actually distract from the bigger picture.
"What I can say is that a man is more than his proclivities. Christopher had hot blood and a fearless mind. He walked where the rest of us fear to tread and he dissolved my faith in the life to come. Yet he sought not to destroy, but to be true. His bequest to me was honest doubt. That is what I believe is important about him, more than his plays or his verses, of which I know sadly little. His life showed that the courage to be honest is the best exemplar of whatever life might be to come. If there is one. And if there is no life to come, only nothingness, then being honest about that and living fully in the face of nothing is an even greater virtue, the very best we can do. And that surely is deserving of something."
I very much look forward to reading more by Alan Judd.
What I also really like is that this book could have been a thriller of derring do and using Kit as and “action hero”. Judd doesn’t do this. This is told by a character (a specialist in cyphers and fellow “spy”) who is imprisoned in the Tower and is interviewed by someone 30 years after Marlowe’s death. The interview is being conducted apparently about Marlowe by order of the King.
It’s all about Kit’s character and more so his way of thinking, with his search for honesty (and whether it can be found in religion) in the foreground.
The suspense element is built around us not knowing why Thomas is being questioned about Marlowe.
It does become clear in the last chapter but in keeping with the espionage theme and the vagueness and ambiguity of what each of the characters say to each other, it is never spelled out for the reader.
Apart from the investigation into Marlowe’s thinking and character (both of which I thought were done really well), I loved the structure and style in which the story was told. I totally felt immersed in the Jacobean politics and plotting that made it impossible to trust any of the characters completely. Judd pitched this against the main character describing Marlowe’s search for truth in everything, which I felt was a superb contrast to the description of the environment in which Marlowe lived.
The ending also really worked for me. It finally touches on a point that other books such as Tamburlaine Must Die have picked up about Marlowe, but I really liked how Judd deals with it. Again, it seemed that Judd acknowledges that too little fact is known to be certain of much about Marlowe, and that speculation may actually distract from the bigger picture.
"What I can say is that a man is more than his proclivities. Christopher had hot blood and a fearless mind. He walked where the rest of us fear to tread and he dissolved my faith in the life to come. Yet he sought not to destroy, but to be true. His bequest to me was honest doubt. That is what I believe is important about him, more than his plays or his verses, of which I know sadly little. His life showed that the courage to be honest is the best exemplar of whatever life might be to come. If there is one. And if there is no life to come, only nothingness, then being honest about that and living fully in the face of nothing is an even greater virtue, the very best we can do. And that surely is deserving of something."
I very much look forward to reading more by Alan Judd.
September 11, 2021
Lifeless,and it could have been great.
April 29, 2021
I confess I can see little point in this book. Its framing is hoary; its subject (Marlowe) has long been known to have worked as a spy on the side; his death in a tavern has been forensically examined in The Reckoning. A great disappointment.
March 1, 2022
Equal parts history, mystery, and character study, British novelist Alan Judd's newest work asks the centuries-old question: if a fellow named Ingram Frizer was indeed the man who killed Christopher Marlowe in that infamous barroom brawl (as by all accounts he was), then what provoked it? An unpaid bill, as suggested? Or was there something more sinister behind it--in addition to being a playwright and poet Marlowe was also, of course, a part-time spy--something connected to one or more of Marlowe's clandestine missions? Is it possible he was assassinated? Told in the first person by real-life professional spy and codebreaker Thomas Phelippes--sharing his memories of Marlowe even though, by Judd's own reckoning, it's unlikely they ever met--the story moves swiftly from one dangerous mission to another (largely intelligence-gathering operations involving England's principal enemies, Spain and the Catholic Church), one top-secret meeting in some out-of-the-way location hard on the heels of the last one. The language has an unmistakably quasi-formal, 16th century vibe to it, and the heavily-researched detail is extraordinary. ("A Fine Madness" could be taught in a class on English history, it's so chockful of info.) There are a lot of characters to sort through--kings, queens, couriers, innkeepers, rich men, poor men, spies--and all the various plots and counterplots can be awfully hard to follow. And the cover description--"A Christopher Marlowe Murder Mystery"--is a bit misleading, too; this isn't so much a whodunit as an examination of what made a remarkable, and remarkably complex young man, tick. If you enjoy it as a mystery, fine. But if you accept it instead as a fictional look at the final years of Kit Marlowe's life, even better. "A Fine Madness" may not be a masterpiece, but it's a fine read, nevertheless.
March 8, 2022
I simply had to follow up my reading of Arthur Phillips "The King at the Edge of the World" with this different novel of the spy network during Elizabeth's time. This one deals chiefly with Christopher Marlowe who is far more interesting than the characters in the Phillips novel. Marlowe has always fascinated me. His plays are so dark and bloody, he seems to have carried a real chip on his shoulder. This is a well researched novel which worked both for and against it. It did bog down now and again with too many historical details. I wanted this one to answer the mystery of Marlowe's death for me once and for all and I suppose it came as close as a writer this many centuries after the fact can come. But I remain unsatisfied. I did love one of the quotes used to describe Marlowe, "But when it came to Ovid and the ancients his speech gained in pace and warmth as if they were close friends. I think they were; for him, all literature was contemporary." I shall never know if this is true of Marlowe, but if he did feel this way about literature, then he and I would have had a great deal to talk about!
April 7, 2023
I expected a lot and received a lot.
When reading this, please be mindful that this is no action-packed Agatha Christie like whodunnit that keeps you turning the page.
This novels keeps you turning the page (if it does) because you want to know more about Christopher Marlowe, because his thinking and actions interest you and because his death is to this day a great mystery never to be truly solved.
I also loved the angle this narration has: someone who has nothing to do with Marlowe's acting/writing world but knew him quite well nonetheless.
Honestly one of my favorite reads this year so far.
To end with a beautiful quote from page 231 that is a perfect summary of both Marlowe and this novel: "A bright star doomed by his own will".
When reading this, please be mindful that this is no action-packed Agatha Christie like whodunnit that keeps you turning the page.
This novels keeps you turning the page (if it does) because you want to know more about Christopher Marlowe, because his thinking and actions interest you and because his death is to this day a great mystery never to be truly solved.
I also loved the angle this narration has: someone who has nothing to do with Marlowe's acting/writing world but knew him quite well nonetheless.
Honestly one of my favorite reads this year so far.
To end with a beautiful quote from page 231 that is a perfect summary of both Marlowe and this novel: "A bright star doomed by his own will".
October 16, 2022
It took a while to get into this as I was expecting more of a spy thriller and this is something different; however, once I started reading it for what it was, I really admired it. Thomas, once a code breaker for Walsingham, is recounting his encounters with Christopher Marlowe although he is not sure why. You gain an insight into the character of Marlowe (although not much is actually known about him historically) and also of Thomas. The detail about the plots against Elizabeth and the maze of spies who foil them reminded me a bit of Wolf Hall. You only find out at the end what the interest in Marlowe is. An unusual but fascinating read.
April 27, 2021
An enjoyable read, and an interesting portrait of two very different but equally enigmatic men. I enjoyed the framing of the book as a recounting of memories to an unnamed interviewer; I found myself sucked into the story before being jolted back into an awareness of its artificiality through Phelippes’ occasional requests for more candles, ale etc. I found that at times it read a little too historically, as if it were no longer Phelippes speaking and was instead a non-fiction account of historical events. But, equally, this led to a rich portrayal of the period and an immersive account. Really enjoyed.
January 21, 2024
This novel is about Marlowe, 'the spy' and the possible role espionage had to play in his death. Marlowe's story is told from the tower by Phelippes, a former colleague- in an attempt to gain a pardon in return.
While I initially enjoyed the novel, the fact that events are recalled some time after they occurred meant the novel lacked immediacy and narrative tension. I may also have been hampered by an incomplete knowledge of the period in which the novel is set.
While I initially enjoyed the novel, the fact that events are recalled some time after they occurred meant the novel lacked immediacy and narrative tension. I may also have been hampered by an incomplete knowledge of the period in which the novel is set.
April 8, 2022
I found this a bit of a slog. The narrator is Thomas Phellippes, Walsingham's decryptor in chief, talking to an anonymous interviewer at the end of his life. The interview is in relation to the life of Christopher Marlowe, poet and spy(?). The reason for this interview is never revealed.
Marlowe is an interesting character and I was looking forward to this novel, but found it unsatisfactory. The narrative is episodic and disjointed, which it would be from the point of view of a narrator who rarely saw his subject, but it does not make for a good reading experience.
I disliked the hints about an unnamed play maker with whom Marlowe was supposedly collaborating and was clearly supposed to be Shakespeare. No-one else has ever hinted that Shakespeare was writing in London as early as 1586 and I'm unsure how accepted the theory is that Marlowe collaborated on the early Henry plays.
The writer/narrator accepts the official explanation of Marlowe's death as being the result of an argument about a reckoning. Very few others have.
If you want a really good novel about Marlowe, this is not it. "A Dead man in Deptford" is.
Marlowe is an interesting character and I was looking forward to this novel, but found it unsatisfactory. The narrative is episodic and disjointed, which it would be from the point of view of a narrator who rarely saw his subject, but it does not make for a good reading experience.
I disliked the hints about an unnamed play maker with whom Marlowe was supposedly collaborating and was clearly supposed to be Shakespeare. No-one else has ever hinted that Shakespeare was writing in London as early as 1586 and I'm unsure how accepted the theory is that Marlowe collaborated on the early Henry plays.
The writer/narrator accepts the official explanation of Marlowe's death as being the result of an argument about a reckoning. Very few others have.
If you want a really good novel about Marlowe, this is not it. "A Dead man in Deptford" is.
May 23, 2021
I'm feeling inferior because I wasn't able to finish this book, one that had a fabulous review in The Spectator. It's based on the life of Christopher Marlow, inspired playwright, sometime agent/spy and violent young man. I'm sure it's beautifully written nevertheless it utterly failed to grab my intention and I gave up a third of the way through. When the subject matter has enjoyed such an adventurous life, its hard to see why it should feel so plodding. But to me at least, it did. Sorry Alan Judd. I wish you well. Probably me. I might try again at a later date.
January 2, 2023
Expected a thriller of a mystery surrounding Christopher Marlowe's death and his work as one of Sir Francis Walsingham's spies for Queen Elizabeth I, but didn't get it. Plodding, rather lifeless, not very interesting, not much of a mystery. It was ok for the historical detail and the story of the Babington Plot to put Mary, Queen of Scots on the English throne, but overall it just didn't hold my interest very well, kept putting it down, which is never a good sign for me. Doubt I'd recommend it.
June 8, 2025
Judd uses an interesting literary device to tell the story, but I’m not sure it best serves the plot. The pace was plodding throughout and the narrative left me indifferent.
February 11, 2022
Originally published at Reading Reality
To paraphrase Ben Kenobi, “this is not the book you are looking for”, at least not if you picked it up based on the blurb above. As I did.
The blurb isn’t even correct in its facts. Christopher Marlowe didn’t die “outside” an inn in Deptford. He died inside the inn. While that may be the end of Marlowe’s story, it’s only the beginning of just how different this book is from its blurb and my expectations.
I picked this up because it sounded like a different perspective on Christopher Marlowe’s meteoric rise, catastrophic fall – especially that fall – and just how he got from being a scholarship student at Cambridge to spying for England’s most famous historical spymaster, Sir Frances Walsingham.
In other words, I was hoping for something that would be a slightly different take on the marvelous version of Marlowe’s story told in last year’s terrific and utterly absorbing A Tip for the Hangman.
Color me extremely disappointed. If you’re looking for an excellent historical novel about Marlowe that deals with his spycraft and the possible reasons for his death, read A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein. You will not be disappointed.
And in spite of Hangman being over 100 pages longer than this book, it’s a shorter and much more captivating read. (I’ve also heard that if you’re looking for a true crime exploration of Marlowe’s death, The Reckoning by Charles Nicholl is worth reading. I can’t confirm or deny as I have not read it – and reading mileage as listed in Goodreads reviews varies considerably.)
For a life that burned as bright as Marlowe’s did, this account of it is remarkably dry, dull, stiff and slow. It’s a slog to get through and it shouldn’t be considering its source material. This is probably related to its framing device, that of one of Marlowe’s former colleagues and sort-of friends, long after Marlowe’s death, is relating what he remembers about the man to a court official inquiring on behalf of the about-to-be-late king James I (of England) and VI (of Scotland).
Thomas Phelippes is a historical figure who did work as a cryptographer for Walsingham, did participate in some of the events that Marlowe did and did spend much of his life after Walsingham’s death in and out of jail for various offenses. Phelippes was much better at managing the kingdom’s business than he was his own.
But we are all the heroes of our own stories, and that’s as true with this fictional version of Phelippes as anyone else. The fictional version seems to have known Marlowe better than is supported in the historical record, but it is still a knowing at more than one remove. Marlowe drops in and out of the man’s life, often shocking him with his outrageous views of pretty much everything, but never revealing much of his own core.
Also the obsequiousness of Phelippes address and speech seriously grates on 21st century eyes and ears. He’s frequently dull, often boring, and always more verbose than required.
The upshot of which is that A Fine Madness is way more about the way that Marlowe made Phelippes question his own faith and beliefs than it is about Marlowe or what he believed – or did.
To make a long story short – but not as long a story as Thomas Phelippes’ story feels like it is, this is not the book you are looking for if you’re looking for a book that is anything like the blurb suggests this is. If you want THAT book, A Tip for the Hangman is a much, much better bet.
Escape Rating D+: Using the perspective of a character who neither went to playhouses nor read poetry to tell the story of someone who had a secret life as a spy but was known and celebrated for his plays and his poetry (and still is!) turns out to be a peculiar and ultimately unsuccessful choice of narrator for a story that should have – and has in other hands – sparkled and stung in equal measure.
To paraphrase Ben Kenobi, “this is not the book you are looking for”, at least not if you picked it up based on the blurb above. As I did.
The blurb isn’t even correct in its facts. Christopher Marlowe didn’t die “outside” an inn in Deptford. He died inside the inn. While that may be the end of Marlowe’s story, it’s only the beginning of just how different this book is from its blurb and my expectations.
I picked this up because it sounded like a different perspective on Christopher Marlowe’s meteoric rise, catastrophic fall – especially that fall – and just how he got from being a scholarship student at Cambridge to spying for England’s most famous historical spymaster, Sir Frances Walsingham.
In other words, I was hoping for something that would be a slightly different take on the marvelous version of Marlowe’s story told in last year’s terrific and utterly absorbing A Tip for the Hangman.
Color me extremely disappointed. If you’re looking for an excellent historical novel about Marlowe that deals with his spycraft and the possible reasons for his death, read A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein. You will not be disappointed.
And in spite of Hangman being over 100 pages longer than this book, it’s a shorter and much more captivating read. (I’ve also heard that if you’re looking for a true crime exploration of Marlowe’s death, The Reckoning by Charles Nicholl is worth reading. I can’t confirm or deny as I have not read it – and reading mileage as listed in Goodreads reviews varies considerably.)
For a life that burned as bright as Marlowe’s did, this account of it is remarkably dry, dull, stiff and slow. It’s a slog to get through and it shouldn’t be considering its source material. This is probably related to its framing device, that of one of Marlowe’s former colleagues and sort-of friends, long after Marlowe’s death, is relating what he remembers about the man to a court official inquiring on behalf of the about-to-be-late king James I (of England) and VI (of Scotland).
Thomas Phelippes is a historical figure who did work as a cryptographer for Walsingham, did participate in some of the events that Marlowe did and did spend much of his life after Walsingham’s death in and out of jail for various offenses. Phelippes was much better at managing the kingdom’s business than he was his own.
But we are all the heroes of our own stories, and that’s as true with this fictional version of Phelippes as anyone else. The fictional version seems to have known Marlowe better than is supported in the historical record, but it is still a knowing at more than one remove. Marlowe drops in and out of the man’s life, often shocking him with his outrageous views of pretty much everything, but never revealing much of his own core.
Also the obsequiousness of Phelippes address and speech seriously grates on 21st century eyes and ears. He’s frequently dull, often boring, and always more verbose than required.
The upshot of which is that A Fine Madness is way more about the way that Marlowe made Phelippes question his own faith and beliefs than it is about Marlowe or what he believed – or did.
To make a long story short – but not as long a story as Thomas Phelippes’ story feels like it is, this is not the book you are looking for if you’re looking for a book that is anything like the blurb suggests this is. If you want THAT book, A Tip for the Hangman is a much, much better bet.
Escape Rating D+: Using the perspective of a character who neither went to playhouses nor read poetry to tell the story of someone who had a secret life as a spy but was known and celebrated for his plays and his poetry (and still is!) turns out to be a peculiar and ultimately unsuccessful choice of narrator for a story that should have – and has in other hands – sparkled and stung in equal measure.
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June 8, 2024A deep, deep dive into Elizabethan espionage. Meticulously researched, maybe too detailed, there were so many names and I had to go back a few times to check who they were. The dialogue was perfect, very attuned to the period. But calling it a mystery is a misnomer; there is no solution to the mystery of who Christopher Marlowe really was unless you believe that atheism was the answer. The other mystery is why the King is having Phillips questioned about him. Some reviews here said it was answered - not for me. Was it to do with Marlowe's sexuality? Is that what King James wanted to know about? If you know, please tell me.
I did think it was sad that Phillips spent the rest of his old age in prison, even if the King "mercifully" eased his conditions. And he never got paid for all the work he did for King James; I guess Francis Walsingham paid him. Phillips was a brilliant codebreaker but a poor man of business. It's not clear to me what his errors with the Customs dues were, but I never thought he would steal from the crown. And it seemed rotten that they released him from prison so he could help them catch the plotters in what I assume was the Guy Fawkes plot and then put him back in because he was blind and had forgotten his Italian. At least his inquisitor recommended that his widow receive a (small) pension.
It makes me glad I didn't live then. Besides all the dirt and disease, there were so many ways to get put into prison, from being a bad man of business, to being slandered, to being accused of heresy (whether it was true or not) to offending the wrong person to just about anything. Oh, and the descriptions of the torture! The specifications of the rack!
The thing I liked the most about the book was that Phillips said that Marlowe got inside his head and made him think. About religion and the afterlife. And other things. That is a true measure of the effect that one person has.
I did think it was sad that Phillips spent the rest of his old age in prison, even if the King "mercifully" eased his conditions. And he never got paid for all the work he did for King James; I guess Francis Walsingham paid him. Phillips was a brilliant codebreaker but a poor man of business. It's not clear to me what his errors with the Customs dues were, but I never thought he would steal from the crown. And it seemed rotten that they released him from prison so he could help them catch the plotters in what I assume was the Guy Fawkes plot and then put him back in because he was blind and had forgotten his Italian. At least his inquisitor recommended that his widow receive a (small) pension.
It makes me glad I didn't live then. Besides all the dirt and disease, there were so many ways to get put into prison, from being a bad man of business, to being slandered, to being accused of heresy (whether it was true or not) to offending the wrong person to just about anything. Oh, and the descriptions of the torture! The specifications of the rack!
The thing I liked the most about the book was that Phillips said that Marlowe got inside his head and made him think. About religion and the afterlife. And other things. That is a true measure of the effect that one person has.
August 29, 2025
Curiously although I read this in eight days, it felt much longer…although this book is presented by the cover notes as a historical ‘thriller’ and suspenseful spy story, this wasn’t really how I perceived it in the end. I felt it was more an exploration of the narrator’s philosophical journey and his relationship with Marlowe. I can understand Alan Judd choosing this subject as it is one of history’s unsolved mysteries, and I felt it was inspired to choose a narrator who is depicted as so different from Marlowe himself, and who has never seen any of his plays or read his poetry. It added a dimension to the religious and moral elements. I thought it was interesting that my paperback edition had the tag line under the title ‘A novel about Christopher Marlowe - poet, playwright, brawler, spy…? ‘ yet on the title page ‘a novel inspired by the life and death of Christopher Marlowe’ - a good example of publisher’s marketing techniques.
I found the historical detail of the intrigue and espionage interesting, but have to admit skipping the torture scenes and some of the more graphic details. I also realised that although I’ve seen productions of ‘Dr. Faustus’ I don’t think I’ve seen any other plays of Marlowe’s nor have I read his poetry…an omission. I presume that the other unnamed actor and playwright who is alluded to several times in this novel is intended to be Shakespeare, reminding me of the scene in the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’ when Shakespeare gets the news of Marlowe’s death. They must have known each other although I suspect there is no evidence of this, given how little is known of Shakespeare’s life.
I found the historical detail of the intrigue and espionage interesting, but have to admit skipping the torture scenes and some of the more graphic details. I also realised that although I’ve seen productions of ‘Dr. Faustus’ I don’t think I’ve seen any other plays of Marlowe’s nor have I read his poetry…an omission. I presume that the other unnamed actor and playwright who is alluded to several times in this novel is intended to be Shakespeare, reminding me of the scene in the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’ when Shakespeare gets the news of Marlowe’s death. They must have known each other although I suspect there is no evidence of this, given how little is known of Shakespeare’s life.
June 24, 2024
I saw a play recently about Shakespeare and Marlowe, and it renewed my curiosity about Marlowe. So I picked up this book, and I'm glad I did. Though the blurb on the cover called it a "murder mystery," this is not your Sherlock Holmes/Agatha Christie type of thing. It is written as a tale told by a contemporary of Marlowe's (an actual, little-known but very real, man) to an unnamed interlocutor some years after the events described. Specifically, the story is being told more than 20 years into the reign of James I about events (including Marlowe's murder) that took place 10-15 years before the end of Elizabeth I's reign.
It is a mystery in the sense that the documentation of many of these events (like the activities of Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham) is sketchy at best. But as a portrait of the times, and at least a few of the worlds inhabited by Marlowe - spying, dabbling in illegal activities like counterfeiting, and the variety of heresies that could get someone in trouble - it's very interesting. Personally I would have liked more of Marlowe's poetical and theatrical activities, but clearly Judd chose to explore the more shadowy parts of Marlowe's life rather than his writing, which has lasted much longer than most of his contemporaries, except, of course, Shakespeare. And, as a novel about a remarkable - and still mysterious - historical personage, it works very well.
It is a mystery in the sense that the documentation of many of these events (like the activities of Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham) is sketchy at best. But as a portrait of the times, and at least a few of the worlds inhabited by Marlowe - spying, dabbling in illegal activities like counterfeiting, and the variety of heresies that could get someone in trouble - it's very interesting. Personally I would have liked more of Marlowe's poetical and theatrical activities, but clearly Judd chose to explore the more shadowy parts of Marlowe's life rather than his writing, which has lasted much longer than most of his contemporaries, except, of course, Shakespeare. And, as a novel about a remarkable - and still mysterious - historical personage, it works very well.
June 21, 2022
When I picked this off the shelves at the library, I thought it would be another Gabriel Taverner book in the Series by Alys Claire. I had read her latest book in the series (#4, Magic in the Weave) a couple of months ago, which included Christopher Marlowe in the plot. That is a series I enjoy & look forward to reading.
This book is a historical novel, & more almost of a soliloquy by Thomas Phillipes (a decipherer for Thomas Walsingham & former colleague of Christopher Marlowe's, who has been dead for 30 years by the time of this description & confession) by someone who has found himself imprisoned in the Tower of London for some years. He's now being questioned by someone in the King James regime about Marlowe's role in the actions leading to the execution of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots.
This book is a historical novel, & more almost of a soliloquy by Thomas Phillipes (a decipherer for Thomas Walsingham & former colleague of Christopher Marlowe's, who has been dead for 30 years by the time of this description & confession) by someone who has found himself imprisoned in the Tower of London for some years. He's now being questioned by someone in the King James regime about Marlowe's role in the actions leading to the execution of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots.
January 9, 2023
An enjoyable read, and an interesting portrait of two very different but equally enigmatic men. I enjoyed the framing of the book as a recounting of memories to an unnamed interviewer; I found myself sucked into the story before being jolted back into an awareness of its artificiality through Phelippes’ occasional requests for more candles, ale etc. I found that at times it read a little too historically, as if it were no longer Phelippes speaking and was instead a non-fiction account of historical events. But, equally, this led to a rich portrayal of the period and an immersive account. Really enjoyed.
November 9, 2023
The cover says "a novel about Christopher Marlowe" but I would argue that Marlowe does not really come to life. He is called Christopher throughout, as if this device would draw him closer to the reader, but I am afraid that did not work for me. It is a timid novel borne down by the weight of research. The structure is awkward to start with. It is a man I had not heard of - Thomas Phelippes - telling the story of Marlowe to an unnamed royal equerry, but this makes the elusive Marlowe slip through the narrator's fingers. I just could not work up enough enthusiasm for the book: wrong expectations again, I'm afraid. I expected to learn something about Marlowe, but ended up with just crumbs.
June 21, 2022
An enthralling historical fiction focusing on the poet and playwright, Christopher Marlowe, and his time as a spy for the court of Queen Elizabeth I and then his mysterious and untimely death in a bar brawl, which to this day is one of the most fascinating mysteries of the Elizabethan Age.
Alan Judd does a masterful job of describing the political atmosphere in Elizabethan England and the espionage activities conducted by the Queen's master spy, Francis Walsingham.
Alan Judd does a masterful job of describing the political atmosphere in Elizabethan England and the espionage activities conducted by the Queen's master spy, Francis Walsingham.
November 29, 2024
An interesting view of the life of Christopher Marlowe from his early days at Cambridge to the end of his life told from the view point of someone who worked with him and became a friend during their time with Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I's chief spy master. While it talks of Marlowe's work as a playwright and poet, there is never a mention of Shakespeare with regard to the acting community with which Marlowe was associated.
March 31, 2022
2022 novel about the Catholic/Protestant intrigue during Elizabethan era by author Alan Judd. The book purports to be about the murder of dramatist Kit Marlowe, but it takes place many years after Marlowe's death. The Elizabethan history is fascinating, but the mysteries brought up regarding the intrigue and Marlowe's death are not resolved (even in fiction).
May 3, 2022
The plot and subject matter are right up my alley...but the execution feels odd. I can't quite decipher the tone of the narration -- a puzzling mix of first and third person, modern and old-fashioned English, and competing points of view. The end result makes this little book harder to read than it should be, obscuring all the content I usually devour at warp speed.
February 25, 2022
Written as a monologue with repeated questions like a bad talking head interview, it took all the life out of adventurous incidents. The historical facts were correct but the character development of the narrator was flat.
June 20, 2022
This was a bit hit and miss. Some good stuff but also some serious navel gazing going on. King James 1st is keen to discover what led to the death of playwright and spy Christopher Marlowe. He sends a man to the tower to speak to a former spy who had links to Marlowe. A bit confusing at times.
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