An Elizabethan mystery
2 total works
When fire destroys their London theatre, Lord Westfield's players must seek out humbler venues in the countryside. But company manager Nicholas Bracewell is distracted by a shocking tragedy: a mysterious messenger from his native Devon is murdered by poison. Though the messenger is silenced, Nicholas understands what he must do: return to his birthplace and reconcile some unfinished business of the past.
The rest of Westfield's Men, penniless and dejected, ride forth with him on a nightmare tour that will perhaps become their valedictory, dogged as they are by plague, poverty, rogues, and thieves. And among the sinister shadows that glide silently with them toward Devon is one who means Nicholas never to arrive . . .
The rest of Westfield's Men, penniless and dejected, ride forth with him on a nightmare tour that will perhaps become their valedictory, dogged as they are by plague, poverty, rogues, and thieves. And among the sinister shadows that glide silently with them toward Devon is one who means Nicholas never to arrive . . .
The mysterious Simon Chaloner appears at the Queen's Head Pub following a performance by Lord Westfield's Men, a leading Elizabethan company of players. Then Chaloner follows producer Nicholas Bracewell and playwright Edmund Hoode home and gives them each a manuscript called The Roaring Boy, a drama based on events surrounding the murder of a mathematician. When Bracewell and Hoode stage the play, the performance causes a riot, sending Hoode to prison. In order to save his men, Bracewell must solve two murders - one being that on which the play is based. Brimful of period and theatrical detail, this seventh - in - series novel won a 1996 Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination.