Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this spellbinding biography, literary historian Greenblatt (The Swerve) recreates the short life of English playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe, arguing that Marlowe's poems and plays, with their skepticism about religious and political authority, ushered in the English Renaissance. The son of a poor cobbler, Marlowe distinguished himself at King's School in Canterbury, clearing a path for him to attend Cambridge, where he excelled in Latin, translating Ovid's love poems. He then turned to playwriting, producing in the 1580s Tamburlaine, a play based on the Central Asian emperor Timur that Greenblatt explains is about the "impious breaking of every rule, the ruthless satisfaction of desire, and the triumph of the will." Greenblatt examines how Marlowe produced dramatic innovations that Shakespeare would later use in his plays; the soliloquy, for example, appeared for the first time on stage in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, and Marlowe created the English history play with his Edward II. Marlowe was murdered at age 29 in an apparent struggle over a bill in a tavern. Throughout, Greenblatt vividly recreates the dangerous and dark world of Elizabethan London, with its "narrow streets filled with excrement and offal, severed heads of convicted traitors struck up on spikes for passersby to contemplate." Readers will be captivated. (Sept.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Pulitzer Prize winner Greenblatt (Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud) offers an expert exploration of the tumultuous world of Elizabethan England, rendered with his signature literary elegance and scholarly depth. The prose is vivid, precise, and immersive, bringing to life both the grandeur and brutality of the era. His approach to the biography, centered not on Shakespeare but on the short life of his enigmatic rival Christopher Marlowe (1564--93), offers fresh insight and a compelling narrative arc. The clarity and style of Greenblatt's language make complex historical and cultural dynamics accessible without sacrificing nuance. The book isn't heavily illustrated, but a few carefully selected images, such as the "Rainbow Portrait" of Elizabeth I, enhance the narrative. The subject matter--the intersection of art, politics, and danger in Renaissance England--holds significant value for academic and general audiences, and his nuanced cultural and personal conflict portrayal ensures the book's relevance and resonance. VERDICT A distinguished contribution to literary and historical studies.--Lawrence Mello
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Marlowe's Renaissance. From the pen of the award-winning scholar Greenblatt (The Swerve, 2011) comes this vivid biography of the Renaissance poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe. The son of a Canterbury cobbler, Marlowe won a place at his local school by dint of brains and energy, moved to Cambridge, where he distinguished himself in Latin learning, found himself recruited into a network of intelligence officers for Queen Elizabeth, and then, at age 29, was mysteriously murdered in a bar fight. At the heart of Greenblatt's book, though, is not just a familiar story but a new argument: that it was really Marlowe, rather than Shakespeare, who lit the flame under the literary Renaissance of Elizabethan England and, furthermore, that it was Marlowe's brilliant schooling (rather than any lived experience) that fed his verbal imagination. Acting and action were everywhere in Marlowe's world, and Greenblatt implies that it was his work as a spy that gave him an added sense of what it meant to perform. Marlowe "entered a world in which virtually everyone was in disguise, and it was fantastically difficult to know whom to trust. These professional role-players, operatives supremely gifted at inspiring confidence, whispered what one most hoped to hear and made one want to relax, open up, and reveal the truth." Greenblatt is describing the world of Elizabethan espionage, but he could well be talking about the power of the theater to make us open up, relax, and reveal the truth. In the end, Marlowe "made it possible to write in a new way about violence, ambition, greed, and desire. He offered poetic liberation." In his hands, "the expressive power of the English language took a great leap forward." In Greenblatt's hands, literary scholarship, too, has taken a great leap forward. A scintillating biography of Christopher Marlowe by one of America's leading humanities scholars. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
