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A Dead Man in Deptford (Burgess, Anthony)

Average customer rating:

Which Marlowe are we talking about? Oh, that one.
Elizabethan!
Dead Man in Deptford
Stick With It, It's Worth It
Breathtakingly fine work...

A Dead Man in Deptford (Burgess, Anthony)
Anthony Burgess
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe
Nothing Like the Sun: A Story of Shakespeare's Love-Life (Norton Paperback Fiction)
Entered From The Sun: The Murder Of Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy
Christopher Marlowe: The Complete Plays

ASIN: 0786711523

Book Description

With A Dead Man in Deptford, Burgess concluded his literary career to overwhelming acclaim for his re-creation of the Elizabethan poet Christopher Marlowe. In lavish, pitch-perfect, and supple, readable prose, Burgess matches his splendid Shakespeare novel, Nothing Like the Sun. The whole world of Elizabethan England-from the intrigues of the courtroom, through the violent streets of London, to the glory of the theater-comes alive in this joyous celebration of the life of Christopher Marlowe, murdered in suspicious circumstances in a tavern brawl in Deptford more than four hundred years ago.

Customer Reviews:

Which Marlowe are we talking about? Oh, that one........2006-04-25

O O O O that Marlovian Rag-
So incredible
Even bed-able

Elizabethan!.......2005-07-11

First time I read this book I considered it pretty much a bunch of sex scenes strung together with philosophical ramblings. Later I went back to it for another try, and I'm glad I did. It's an incredible book. It *feels* Elizabethan, not just in the language, not just in the historical accuracy, but in every detail of the characters' thought and sensibility that's typical of Burgess at the very top of his game. It also makes amends (in plenty) for anyone who was disgusted by the attitude toward homosexuality portrayed in The Wanting Seed (in fact, remembering that Burgess had written this book was the only thing that kept me from flinging TWS across the room, well, that and the fact that it was a library book). Readers interested in Marlowe will also find an insightful if maybe not totally groundbreakingly original view of his philosophy, life and plays and the relationship between them.

Dead Man in Deptford.......2003-07-18

A novelization of the career and death of Elizabethan writer Kit Marlowe.

Wonderfully clever on a sentence level, and also a realistic evocation of period mentalities. I found nothing that seemed anachronistic here; the characters are steeped in the thought, literature, and problems of their times.

Sometimes the cleverness detracts from the story. The unusual dialogue punctuation in particular makes conversations hard to follow. At times the themes have great power, but too often they, as well as plot and characterization, sag under the weight of verbal expression. A framing device -- as well as a puzzling new voice coming in at the end -- doesn't add much and seems unnecessary.

Overall, I found this to be an ambitious and well-written book which will probably lose a number of readers who can't follow its verbal twists and turns, but which is well worth reading.

Stick With It, It's Worth It.......2003-03-06

While some have said this is a difficult book (and I must admit I felt that way at first) if you relax and stick with it you'll find that it will begin to flow very smoothly.
Burgess takes us into the mind of Marlowe; his images are vivid. There were many passages that I had to reread, not because they were difficult, but because they were so beautiful. Sir Walter Raleigh introducing Kit to tobacco is marvelous.
I have to agree with those who found that following the characters was a bit confusing. I had the good fortune to have read Charles Nichol's book 'The Reckoning" first, a true story about the death of Marlowe. That work is a great introduction to most of the players in Burgess's book.
Please, don't be intimidated by "Dead Man", it is a pleasing and enlightening work.

Breathtakingly fine work..........2000-08-17

Marlowe is presented in full here. You can feel him touching the pages as you read them. You can taste the food he eats, drink what he drinks. This is a visceral book. Burgess was a linguist, so, of course, the dialect might prove a challenge to some, but, in the same way that the invented slang of Clockwork Orange made the experience of that book more vivid and real, the Elizabethanisms of Dead Man only give it more depth and color. The "Elizabethanisms" of this book are, in any case, less challenging than those served up in Burgess' earlier, more difficult but also astonishingly rewarding Shakespeare book "Nothing Like The Sun". Disregard those few on here who warn you off this book, particularly if you revel in language that comes rich and thick and genuine.

Average customer rating:

A Dead Man in Deptford
Anthony Burgess
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQLNJS

Average customer rating:

A Dead Man in Deptford
Anthony Burgess
Manufacturer: Hutchinson Radius
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OH7V7E

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