MAD COURTESAN: An Elizabethan Mystery

Butchery outside a London brothel leaves Westfield's Men in disarray. While England is brought low by rumours of Queen Elizabeth's declining health, celebrated theatre company Lord Westfield's Men suffer their own bitter blows. A vicious feud between players causes chaos; a rival company launches a new production and a mysterious beauty reduces their leading actor to a lovelorn wreck. And a brutal murder leaves the group of actors reeling. With matters so fraught, even a performing horse becomes a threat. Stage manager Nicholas Bracewell, accustomed to damage control, is the only man with the wit to keep the company afloat. He begins to discern the connections between the company's misfortunes and the larger shadow falling over England. Steeped in authentic detail and language. 318pp in paperback.