Sleep of Death: A Mystery of Shakespearean London

by Philip Gooden

Book Overview

History meets mystery with a new twist in this raucous, colorful debut novel set in the bustling theatrical world of Shakespeare and Marlowe during the reign of the formidable Elizabeth I. Fast-paced and sprightly, it takes Nick Revill, a young actor in the newly established Chamberlain's Men company at the Globe Theatre in Southwark, to a luxuriously appointed Thameside mansion where a black-clad youth has offered him temporary lodging. Learning...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786707623
• ISBN13: 9780786707621
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Delightful.

There are scenes of great good humor, early investigative techniques, some suspense-could Shakespeare be the killer?--and wonderful depictions of London during the late 1500's. One doesn't need knowledge of Hamlet to enjoy this book. This is a well-plotted, delightful book and the start of a very good series.

A fine original crime novel

In his new Shakespearian detective world, Philip Gooden has created something new and vibrant and original, with interesting characters, and a marvellous evocation of the world of Elizabethan London.

Witty, Intelligent, Playful, yet quite dark!

I loved this book! Even if you don't know HAMLET at all (and so many of the lines are quotations from Shakespeare) I think that any discerning lover of mystery will enjoy this book. Lovers of Shakespeare will also enjoy it enormously. And yet it is never ponderous or difficult--it's sprightly yet dark; intelligent, yet quite easy to read. I believe that SLEEP OF DEATH has something to offer all readers: people who like a good mystery; people who like history; people who like good literature; people who like funny, witty books; people who like to learn. The narrator is quite endearing; the descriptions of the London of 400 years ago are wonderful.This is undoubtedly the best mystery I read in 2001--and I must have read at least 100.

Sleep of Death

This was a truly great read! Nick Revill, an aspiring actor with the Chamberlin's Men, investigates the death of a wealthy landowner, who seems to have died in a fashion similar to that of Hamlet's father. Is art imitating fiction or is there something more sinister afoot? Lovers of historical mysteries will quite naturally look for similarites between this work and that of Edward Marston's Nicholas Bracewell series. And while there is very little rollicking humour in Philip Gooden's book, I can truly recommend this book for it's tight plot and dark intrigue, that keeps you guessing as to whether or not a murder was committed and if so, who did it.