Lightborne - hesse phillips

A thrilling reimagining of the last days of one of the most famed Elizabethan playwrights--Christopher Marlowe--and of a love that flourishes within the margins.

Christopher Marlowe: playwright, poet, lover.

In the plague-stricken streets of Elizabethan England, Kit flirts with danger, leaving a trail of enemies and old flames in his wake.

His plays are a roaring success; he seems destined for greatness.

But in the spring of 1593, the queens eyes are everywhere and the air is laced with paranoia.

Marlowe receives an unwelcome visit from his one-time mentor, Richard Baines, a man who knows all of Marlowes secrets and is hell-bent on his destruction.

When Marlowe is arrested on charges of treason, heresy, and sodomy--all of which are punishable by death--he is released on bail with the help of Sir Thomas Walsingham.

Kit presumes Walsingham to be his friend; in fact, the spymaster has hired an assassin to take care of Kit, fearing that his own sins may come to light.

Now, with the queens spies and the vengeful Baines closing in on the playwright, Marlowes last friend in the world is Ingram Frizer, a total stranger who is obsessed with Kits plays, and who will, within ten days time, first become Marlowes lover--and then his killer.

Richly atmospheric, emotionally devastating, and heartrendingly imagined, Lightborne is a masterful reimagining of the last days of one of Englands most famous literary figures.