Kindle
$11.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$9.28
Paperback
$12.95
Buy used: $9.28
FREE delivery May 3 - 6. Details
Or fastest delivery April 29 - May 1. Details
Used: Good | Details
Sold by ThriftBooks-Seattle
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Edward Marston
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Mad Courtesan Hardcover – January 1, 1992

by Edward Marston (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 151 ratings
See all formats and editions
The Mad Courtesan is the fifth in Edward Marston's Elizabethan theater series featuring stage manager Nicholas Bracewell and the colorful acting troupe Lord Westfield's Men. In this novel, a vicious rivalry erupts between two of the actors: Owen Elias, a surly, envious Welshman, and Sebastian Carrick, the amiable and attractive son of a gentleman, begin to have increasingly realistic duels on stage.
When Sebastian is found in a Clerkenwell alley with his head split open by an axe, an uneasiness grips the company. But as Nick, ever calm and confident, begins to investigate Sebastian's mysterious life and death, he learns that Carrick's acting prowess, weakness for women, and unwillingness to repay loans have made him several enemies, both in and out of the troupe. When Nick digs further, he finds himself embroiled in a web of deception and danger that stretches to the Virgin Queen herself.
Previous page
  1. Book 5 of 16
    Nicholas Bracewell
  2. Print length
    252 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    St Martins Pr
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 1992
  6. Dimensions
    5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0312082592
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0312082598
  9. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stage manager Nicholas Bracewell must juggle his company, his patron and a murder investigation in Marston's fifth Elizabethan-era theater mystery, which features political intrigue along with low and high comedy. Fellow actors in a troupe called Westfield's Men, Owen Elias and Sebastian Carrick are both considered for the coveted position of shareholder. Chief actor and leading shareholder Lawrence Firethorn decides to back Carrick, but before the successful candidate can learn of his good fortune, he is killed returning from a brothel. At the funeral, Bracewell promises Carrick's sister that he will find the murderer. Concurrently the future of Westfield's Men is in question as rumors circulate that Queen Elizabeth is dying: perhaps a new monarch might not be a drama lover, or might favor a rival patron. While Bracewell tackles these issues, gnarly Cornelius Gant and his wonder horse Nimbus catch the public's fancy, and a mystery woman tempts Firethorn to miss a performance. Marston ( The Nine Giants ) expertly juggles murder, the theater setting and the historical background of not-so-merry old England.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Historical mystery fans will appreciate the return of Nicholas Bracewell, stage manager for an Elizabethan acting troupe, as he looks for the murderer of an agreeable but foolhardy actor.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St Martins Pr; First Edition (January 1, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 252 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312082592
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312082598
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 151 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Edward Marston

Edward Marston

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
151 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J. Chippindale
5.0 out of 5 stars The Fifth of an Entertaining Series
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2006
Edward Marston is the pseudonym of Keith Miles, a fairly prolific and extremely good writer of mainly Elizabethan and medieval mysteries. He has also written mysteries under his own name with both sporting and golf backgrounds. However it is primarily the books that take place earlier in history that I am interested in. He read modern history at Oxford and has had many jobs, including university lecturer, but fortunately for all his readers, he turned to the writing profession.

Laurence Firethorn, star actor and seducer of women, who should know better, but who are bewitched by the charms of his profession, is always ready for a secret tryst or dalliance whenever he can. However it is from another quarter that jealous rivalry erupts in the troupe of actors. Two of the other players, Owen Elias, a surly Welshman and Sebastian Carrick an amiable and handsome gentleman doe not get on. Their on stage duels become ever more realistic, but it is an axe, not a sword that splits open Carrick's head one night in a Clerkenwell alley.

Nicholas Bracewell, the company's book holder (an important role in Elizabethan theatre) is used to sorting out the messes that his fellow actors get themselves into, begins to investigate the death and is surprised to find that Sebastian was prone to make enemies from his weakness for other men's women and also his habit of not paying his debts. Perhaps the likeable man that Nicholas knew, was not all he seemed . . .

Edward Marston bring to life the sights and sound of Elizabethan London so effectively that the reader almost feels transported back to the narrow stinking streets of old London town.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Linda
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
The Nicholas Bracewell series is always well written. But sometimes the plastic/cardboard characters not so much
Helpful
 Report
Adriann
4.0 out of 5 stars Good historical mysteries.
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
I enjoy historical mysteries like these, and this is a good series overall. They don't contain any explicit scenes so you can gift them to your grandmother or your teenager.
Helpful
 Report
Brian C. Taylor
4.0 out of 5 stars Lively, engaging, complicated and fun
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2005
Edward Marston's Nicholas Bracewell/Elizabethan mysteries are usually a lot of fun (at least all four that I've read), and this is a perfect example. The book teams with interesting characters, and features several plot lines (a performing horse, an amorous actor, a murdered actor, and a dying queen) in the 233 pages of this book. Fortunately the plots are all resolved to satisfaction. There's not a terribly great mystery, but that doesn't seem the point with this series. The melodramatic life of Westfield's Men, the acting troupe, is the real story here. However, one doesn't need to read the novels in order, or start at the beginning or anything. They are fun to read, and one can inadvertently learn a bit about Elizabethan England.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

jsbasso
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
Such clever plot construction to keep the tension wound up tight throughout a most evocative period drama set in a tumultuous period of history.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Bing-bong
4.0 out of 5 stars Keeps on entertaining
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 7, 2019
Verified Purchase
I like! this series. Read the first 2 on holiday and it was perfect fare. Went out of sync with this one. Still enjoyable all the usual characters. however Lawrence Firestone really irritated me in this one. Also Didn't like Nimbus' last show. Seemed a poor ending. Ah well on with the rest
One person found this helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The mad courtesan
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very good book, story was excellent, look forward to the next one.
Actors were good thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Brilliant.
Report
Mrs. D. H. Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars The Mad Old Contesan
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2011
Verified Purchase
I like the way this book has been written it is in my style it is not brash it contains nice words not slang as they used to speak round here a very readable bookm we should have more of this type of book but the young ones would not understand it they are only used to the new style of things which is a great pity.

Read it it takes you to a bygone era of the horse and man the way we used to live there were no cars but the people were the same let your imagination do the rest .....
Report
Mr. S. J. Bradley
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, great characters
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
Having read Edward Marston's wonderful Railway Detective series I decided to give these Elizabethan books a try - I am glad I did. They follow the ups and downs of a group of actors with the Stage Manager, Nicholas Bracewell, keeping the whole thing together and sorting out the problems of murder and mayhem. Great book with great characters.
One person found this helpful
 Report