Book description
Bookholder Nicholas Bracewell, fresh from his triumph holding together
his volatile players' company during a treasonous plot against Queen
Elizabeth, is set to make the galleries of The Queen's Head ring with
laughter with a new comedy, The Merry Devils. The lugubrious landlord is
sure mischief will result. Nicholas sees only a harmless comedy that
will not summon up real devils, but two actors adept at tumbling. How
then, during the crucial scene, do three devils appear on stage, one
looking disturbingly real? And what of the deviltry that follow? One
imp, in fact, soon lies dead beneath the stage… The author's knowledge
of Elizabethan stagecraft and his deep affection for the period show in
every word. Originally published in the U. S. in 1989 by St. Martin's
Press, The Merry Devils is the second Nicholas Bracewell Elizabethan
mystery following The Queen's Head. "Marston's exhilarating
mystery, ending with a bang-up close--on and off stage--is colored by
details about the acting profession at the time and about the era's
mortal quarrels between Catholics and Protestants." EDWARD
MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for
over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the
theatre. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing
children books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and the
settings for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf
to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. He is also a former Chairman
of the Crime Writers Association.
