An Elizabethan espionage thriller in which playwright Christopher Marlowe spies on Mary, Queen of Scots while navigating the perils of politics, theater, romance—and murder. England, 1585. In Kit Marlowe’s last year at Cambridge, he is approached by Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster offering an unorthodox career opportunity: going undercover to intercept a Catholic plot to put Mary, Queen of Scots on … Mary, Queen of Scots on Elizabeth’s throne. Spying on Queen Mary turns out to be more than Kit bargained for, but his salary allows him to mount his first play, and over the following years he becomes the toast of London’s raucous theater scene. But when Kit finds himself reluctantly drawn back into the world of espionage and treason, he realizes everything he’s worked so hard to attain—including the trust of the man he loves—could vanish in an instant.
Pairing modern language with period detail, Allison Epstein brings Elizabeth’s lavish court, Marlowe’s colorful theater troupe, and the squalor of sixteenth-century London to vivid, teeming life. At the center of the action is Kit himself—an irrepressible, irreverent force of nature.
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Allison Epstein’s debut novel, A Tip for the Hangman, follows Christopher Marlowe through his university years until the day of his death. It is witty, romantic, suspenseful, beautifully imagined, and one of the best books I’ve read in years. Epstein’s prose is like water. Deceptive. It carries you through the story so swiftly you nearly miss the sights along the way – how the dim, sodden streets of London echo with the sounds of shopkeepers and pickpockets, the echoing melancholy of a would-be Queen’s house turned prison, the expression of a deep and unassailable love in the surreptitious clasp of hands in a crowd. Lucky for us, the water grows choppy when we need it to, pushing us up against the most dire and consequential moments of Kit Marlowe’s life. A life we leave these pages convinced we know from the inside out.
When we say a book stays with us, we often mean the emotions it evokes. For me, Epstein’s stellar talent has conjured forth more than just emotions. Sitting in my head is Christopher Marlowe himself in all his shattered potential. At first, I thought he would be another trickster who flames out in a cliched self-destruct sequence. He is more than that, however, as Epstein slowly fleshes him out, coaxing the contradictions from the deepest part of his soul. By the end of her book, I am gutted despite having known the outcome since my high school English class. Speaking of which, I think every English student should read A Tip for The Hangman before they read Dr. Faustus. Imagine how much more receptive they would be to Elizabethan theatre. A gem of a book, I highly recommend this to everyone wanting history to come alive long after finishing the book.
Really enjoyed this what-if story about playwright Christopher Marlowe’s life as an English spy, which takes some unpredictable twists and turns on its way to the conclusion that, if you know what happened to Marlowe, you’ll spend the whole book dreading. Epstein does a wonderful job getting the reader attached to the witty, unwise, increasingly desperate Marlowe she has created as the action unfolds.
I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing about Christopher Marlowe except that he was a contemporary of Shakespeare. What a surprise! At least I didn’t have to worry about historical accuracy, since I didn’t know any better. Though I do know somewhat more about Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, and here I wasn’t disappointed. I thought he and Cecil were very believable, so I was able to accept the Marlowe story as well. Since a spy’s life is shadowed in mystery anyway, why couldn’t these things have happened? Marlow got sucked into this shadow world during his college years, when he seemed singularly unsuited to academia—though his genius at storytelling apparently was in overdrive, so to speak. Initially sent to spy on Mary Queen of Scots as the imprisoned queen plotted treason, Marlow discovered he had a propensity for this dangerous occupation. At the same time, his conscience tormented him; he felt like a murderer, betraying those who trusted him. Surviving this first challenge, he became intimate with his college friend Thomas, whose love gave him a lifeline for the next several years when Walsingham’s demands threatened to overwhelm him. Marlow had a love/hate relationship with his spying profession and tried to protect Thomas from the darker side of his life—with mixed results. The farther into the book we read, the darker the story. Poor Marlow, who may be a rake and a troublemaker, has a good heart and is not morally suited for this life of double-dealing. But it seems he can’t extricate himself. All the while he puts out unconventional blockbuster plays that shake the Elizabethan stage. He’s a very interesting character who makes a mess of his life because he seems to be addicted to living on the edge.
Years ago, for a course in grad school, I read Christopher Marlowe’s play A JEW OF MALTA (c. 1590), and I remember wondering what sort of mind would conjure a play so full of brutality, revenge, poison, and betrayal. Marlowe’s play DR FAUSTUS is a heartbreaker, too. I’m a sucker for anything British historical, so when I saw the brief synopsis of this novel about Marlowe on the Poisoned Pen website, I popped in for the zoom talk with the author and subsequently read the book.
I found this a solid, ambitious debut and a very satisfying read. Yes, Epstein has taken some liberties with history (which she acknowledges in her author’s note, and which unlike some reviewers I don’t mind; I’ve used the same “get out of history free card” myself) but she’s captured beautifully what might have been the brain and heart that would write those tragic plays. Her Marlowe is psychologically coherent, full of longing and pain and conflicting passions–a desire to do something of significance on the world/on the stage and a wish to do what he likes, behind the scenes, without repercussions. The story of how Marlowe is drawn into spying on behalf of Queen Elizabeth while simultaneously writing his plays and falling in love is suspenseful and moves at a quick pace. The writing is modern (Epstein doesn’t attempt to reproduce Elizabethan English, thank goodness) and well wrought, with finely tuned dialog and some lovely poetic bits. The spymaster Walsingham: “You are Christopher Marlowe. … Skilled in rhetoric and disputation, disgraceful in geography and geometry. You’ve been smoking all evening and hoped I wouldn’t notice.” Marlowe, in a sticky spot: “He took a deep breath, then let it out. Two seconds, to stitch together some semblance of calm.” A pleasure to read.
People who liked Hilary Mantel’s books will find much to like here, although frankly I found this novel to be more accessible than Mantel’s. The fact that Epstein is a Northwestern grad … well, I’m sending this book along to my daughter who is also a Cat. 🙂
Wow. This stunning 16th century cultural spy-thriller (new genre I just made up) barrels through a rip-roaring tale of politics, religion, theatre, love, and greed. The historical playwright Kit Marlowe emerges as an engaging, double-crossing, brilliant character whose exploits keep you on edge from the first page to the astounding ending. The author’s gorgeous, immersing, yet deft language suits her literary hero and never slows the pace. Highly recommended as terrific historical, action-filled ride. Don’t miss it.
A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein is an excellent historical fiction that has it all: mystery, suspense, intrigue, espionage, intricate plots, and fascinating characters. This book kept me interested from beginning to end.
What I love about this book the most is the way the Author took actual events, people, and real-life historic plots and weaved a tale that incorporates these items into an alternative what if. In her Author’s note, Ms. Epstein gives the reader a bit more insight into what is fact vs fiction, and what details she had to slightly alter in order to fit the narrative. What she was able to create is nothing short of fantastic.
After reading this novel, I had to research more in regards to Christopher Marlowe (Kit). While I know plenty about Mary Stuart and the Babington plot, I knew nothing of Marlowe and enjoyed finding out more. I love reading HF and it inspiring me to learn more.
This book is set in the late 1500s Elizabethan England. We see Kit being drawn in to spying, code breaking, lies, secrets, and espionage by Sir Francis Walsingham and the Privy Council.
The Author did an amazing job creating a plot that flows to perfection, complex characters that peak interest, and creating suspense and mystery throughout to keep the reader wanting more.
An excellent book, and an impressive debut. I look forward to more from this Author in the future.
5/5 stars
Thank you EW and Doubleday for this excellent ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR, Instagram, and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.