Chains of Miscellany

More often than not, a random sequence of events leads up to the moment when I crack open a particular book for the first time. This speculative post by CW left the names of Marlowe and Walsingham dormant somewhere in the back of my head, until months later I clicked onto this book review by Michael Dirda. I noted both the title reviewed (The World of Christopher of Marlowe by David Riggs)and an additional title mentioned in the review, as books I wanted to eventually get my hands on. Shortly thereafter a viewing of this movie prompted a trip to the library where I found the second title mentioned in the review - The Reckoning: the Murder of Christopher Marlowe by Charles Nicholl.

The Reckoning is my current non-fiction read. I've put aside Body of Lies for the moment; Brown's book is very informative but very detailed - a times so detailed as to be tiresome. So for now I've taken a break from the world of WWII espionage and slipped back in time to what Nicholl refers to as the Elizabethan secret world.