THE OXFORDIAN Volume V 2002

Book Review

Who Killed Kit Marlowe? out the book to a respectable size: the by M.J. Trow and Talieson Trow Queen’s Armada speech at Tilbury; Anthony London: Sutton, 2001 Babington’s letter to Robert Poley on the eve of his destruction with its hint of homo- H O S E who have found themselves sexual love (shudder! shudder!); the anec- questioning the mystery that sur- dote about the maid of honor, who, while roundsT the death of the brilliant poet and being seduced by Raleigh, cried out, “Sweet dramatist, , will find Sir Walter, Swisserwasser”! (pant! pant!) this book of interest, as they will any book There are some really sorry mistakes. that takes the question seriously. Unfor- We are informed that the Latin motto on the tunately, despite the promise of the jacket portrait thought by many to be of Marlowe, blurb of a “wholly new and surprising conclu- “Quod me nutruit me destruit” (“That which sion,” in reality what is new is trivial, nourishes me destroys me”), refers to hardly worth the required plunge spying. The author neither knows through a mishmash of facts, nor bothers to find out that this mixed with myths and guesswork popular motto invariably refer- presented as facts, much of it enced some private passion. Or poorly sorted at best and, most do they suggest that Marlowe had annoyingly, backed by few real cita- a private passion for spying? tions. Descriptions are trite and repeti- The first statement in government tive: every mention of Elizabeth is followed agent Baines’s report on Marlowe’s atheism, by the same pejoratives: “black teeth,” “thin that Marlowe held that “the Indians and hair” and “scrawny chest,” as though that many authors of antiquity have assuredly were all there was to be said about the great written above 16 thousand years ago, where- Queen. Every mention of Elizabeth’s Prin- as Adam is proved to have lived within 6 cipal Secretary Francis Walsingham (1572- thousand years. . . .” is interpreted by Trow to 90) is followed by “the Spymaster,” as though refer to Native Americans, sending him off that were the whole of his occupation. Then on a pointless tangent about the possibility there’s Nicholas Faunt, similarly tagged “the that Raleigh and Harriott saw native rituals homosexual,” as though it were some sort of on their trip to Virginia. Had he been less title, one furthermore with no relevance to focused on “Marlowe the Spy,” it might have his role in the story. Really cheap stuff. occurred to him that, in his Faustian thirst There are the same old quotations, for knowledge, Marlowe had read, or heard repeated, not for any relevance to the thesis, tell, that the wisdom of the ancient Greeks but purely for their allure, or perhaps to flesh came to Greece by way of India, something

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that, however it may have surprised Baines scenario, that Marlowe was killed in a brawl (and Trow), would hardly surprise antiquari- over the bill for the day at Eleanor Bull’s inn, ans, then or now. as a cover-up. All agree that some powerful higher-up “set up” Marlowe, though they dif- till, we are glad to see that they have fer on who and why. Saddressed to some extent the major prob- Since the Trows haven’t given the mat- lem with Charles Nicholl’s 1992 The Reck- ter enough study to do more than raise the oning, by far the most important book on the question, their book does little more for Marlowe mystery since Leslie Hotson came Marlowe than point the finger where Nicholl up with the actual coroner’s report in 1925. fell short, at Robert Cecil, a solution, how- For some reason, Nicholl was unable to grasp ever, that had already occurred to Curtis the obvious implications of his own Breight (see his Surveillance, Militarism research, offering what is perhaps and Drama of the Elizabethan Era, the weakest of all solutions: that from 1996). It was Robert Cecil it was Essex who had Marlowe who, upon taking over the office murdered. Another and even of Principle Secretary from the less likely solution, that Raleigh recently deceased “Spy-master” had Marlowe murdered to pre- Walsingham, had the motivation, vent him from “telling all” about both personal and official, to get rid the School of Night, is also dismissed by of Marlowe. Marlowe’s plays, with their the Trows, with good reason. bold, underclass heroes, were attracting far Unfortunately they also dismiss out of too much enthusiastic attention from the hand the most interesting scenario yet, that young and the restless of London, a situation proposed originally by in that would have concerned the Cecils and 1955 in The Murder of the Man Who Was other establishment figures whose priorities S h a k e s p e a r e, which holds that Marlowe’s leaned more towards security and stability death was faked. Though it can offer no real than fostering the arts. evidence, Hoffman’s version does account for Unfortunately the Trows diminish their more of the peculiar elements in the story identification of Cecil by including in their than most theories. (It may be that his sce- accusations both the Lord Admiral, Charles nario is disregarded less on its own account Howard, and the Lord Chamberlain, Henry than because its primary purpose is to support Hunsdon. (This must be the “wholly new his theory that Marlowe lived on to create and surprising conclusion” since nothing else the Shakespeare canon while in exile.) is either new or surprising.) All of these writers see the official They are also off-base with the reasons

175 THE OXFORDIAN Volume V 2002 Book Review they give for Marlowe’s elimination. Trow the book that dispells the myth of “Marlowe (senior, I suppose) waxes eloquent––or as the Spy,” an image so ingrained in the psyche close to it as his native limitations allow of the reading public by now that nobody ––over the dangers of free-thought in even bothers to offer proof? In point of fact, Elizabethan England and the consequences “Marlowe the Spy” is an imaginary being of being charged with atheism. True enough. based on an arbitrary interpretation of three That some members of the highly educated incidents, none of them offering any real evi- nobility were themselves guilty of free-think- dence that Marlowe was ever actually hired ing, also true no doubt. But that Marlowe or paid by the government to spy on his “knew too much” about the atheistical free- countrymen, either at home or abroad. thinking of Howard and Hunsdon, things The incident that launched this omni- they feared he might reveal under examina- present spy version of Marlowe’s biography tion by the rest of the Council, won’t hold has been misinterpreted from the very start. water on the face of it, and even if it did, There can be no argument over the fact that, Trow, with his slipshod approach, isn’t up to in the mid-1580s, when he was in his early making the case. Whether or not we come twenties, Marlowe was engaged in some away persuaded of their complicity in activity that occasioned several long Marlowe’s murder, some background on these absences from his studies at Cambridge two important officials, both members of the University; or that when the dons, hearing Privy Council, both relatives of the Queen, rumors that he had gone to Rheims to turn both patrons of important acting companies, Catholic (or to pretend he had) refused to would be a darn sight more interesting than give him his degree, that they were ordered another recitiation of the Queen’s Tilbury to do so by the Privy Council. The problem speech. If anything, it would seem that lies with the interpretation of the Privy Howard, patron of the brilliant actor Edward Council’s order: Alleyn, who brought Marlowe’s heroes to life on the stage, would have been more con- Whereas it was reported that Chris- cerned to protect his author than to destroy topher Morley was determined to have him. If this question ever occurred to Trow gone beyond the seas to Rheims and he shows no sign of it. there to remain, their lordships Although Trow never gets quite as thought good to verify that he had no Gothic as does Charles Nicholl whenever such intent, but that in all his actions the subject of undercover operations arises he had behaved himself orderly and (there should be some limit set on the use of discreetly whereby he had done her the word “seamy” in books like this), there’s Majesty good service & deserved to be still way too much negative mystique here. rewarded for his faithful dealing. Their When (oh, when) will someone give us lordships’ request was that the rumor

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thereof should be allayed by all possi- Even less likely is the accompanying charge ble means, and that he should be fur- that he was a closet Catholic. If Marlowe thered in the degree he was to take this was a Catholic activist, then somebody else next Commencement; because it was penned Dr. Faustus and The Massacre at not her Majesty’s pleasure that anyone Paris. employed as he had been in matters Spook hunters ignore the importance of touching the benefit of his country the final sentence of the Privy Council mes- should be defamed by those that are sage: “it was not her Majesty’s pleasure that ignorant in th’offices he went about. anyone employed as [Marlowe] had been in matters touching the benefit of his country Trow finds great significance in the should be defamed by those that are ignorant phrase “and there to remain.” Says he, “the in th’offices he went about.” However some earlier part of the sentence ‘was determined’ members of the Council may have felt about either shows Marlowe’s keeness to be of ser- him later, at this point it should be clear that vice or is merely Elizabethan speak for ‘was at the time they signed this letter, most of ordered,’” concluding: “There is little doubt them regarded the rumors of Marlowe’s spy- that he went to Rheims and perhaps else- ing as shameful and uncalled for and his actu- where on Walsingham’s business. . . .” al service, whatever it was, of a much more On the contrary, there is every reason honorable nature. What reason have we ever to doubt it. Without some evidence that been given to disbelieve them? Since we are Marlowe actually went to Rheims, why refuse still just as ignorant of “th’offices he went to accept “their lordships’” explanation? about” as were the Cambridge dons in 1587, Certainly it would seem that Marlowe’s why continue to “defame” the great poet? Is unique abilities, his passion for knowledge, spying the only thing that a brilliant young his training in music and his gift for self- writer and scholar could be doing to “benefit” expression, would make him an unlikely his country, the only thing that the Privy choice for a spy. Contrary to Nicholl’s pecu- Council was unwilling to reveal to the uni- liar insistence that writers are inclined versity? What about writing anti-Catholic towards spying––a view that he repeats over propaganda? What about writing plays for and over like some sort of mantra, in hopes the newly formed Crown company, the perhaps of convincing the reader (or him- Queen’s Men? self)––the history of literature suggests that The second incident that is supposed to great writers do not make good spies; far from prove Marlowe’s spying involves the poet and it. When it comes to relations with repres- two certified government operatives, Richard sive authorities, great writers are far more Baines and Gilbert Gifford (Yes, I know he likely to be found jailed or exiled for speaking called himself “Gifford Gilbert”––a ruse so out too freely than snitching on their fellows. patently transparent that one is dumbfound-

177 THE OXFORDIAN Volume V 2002 Book Review ed that it has been successful for so long) we should say, “return” it to him. Today, who, for some reason, met and shared a room thanks in particular to Nicholl, we have in Flushing, where shortly Baines and more than enough evidence that both Baines Marlowe accused each other to Robert and Gifford were government agents who Sidney, the governor of Flushing, of seeking worked for both Burghley and Cecil. Gifford instruction (from Gifford) in the counterfeit- was one of the main movers behind the sting ing of coins, and of threatening to “go over to that entrapped Anthony Babington, while the enemy” (the Catholics), both capital Baines was the author of several bits of disin- crimes. Steering clear of an obvious mess, formation used by the government, among Sidney shipped all three off to Burghley. them the “note” written a few days before (or Here Nicholl sees Marlowe and Baines after) Marlowe’s assassination, damning him as two government undercover agents as an atheist and a sodomite and ending with: attempting to blame a conspiracy to counter- “I think all men in Christianity ought to feit coins and/or go over to the Catholics on endeavor that the mouth of so dangerous a each other. But this could only be the case if member may be stopped.” the authorities––in this case, the governor of The Flushing incident took place in Flushing or his men––had discovered the January of 1592, during the period following plot through some separate agency, forcing Walsingham’s death that Robert Cecil was the conspirators to turn on each other to save assisting his father in carrying out Walsing- their own skins. That this was not the case is ham’s duties. (The Queen finally gave Cecil revealed by Sidney’s letter to Burghley, the job permanently in 1596.) We believe wherein he explains that he first learned of that this incident was a sting intended to put the “plot” from Baines, who came to him to Marlowe behind bars (much as Jonson was accuse Marlowe. Marlowe, when asked to jailed in 1597, and for the same purpose), respond to Baines’s charges, claimed that it and that it was the first, or one of the first, of was in fact Baines who had urged the scheme a series of moves that can and should be seen and Baines who claimed that he intended to as the Cecils, now working as a team, moving defect to the Catholics. to suppress those writers who satirized, or Who are we to believe here, the gov- attacked, them and their policies in print, or ernment operatives, up to their ears in dou- who, as with Marlowe, wrote plays that they ble-dealing and false testimony, or the great feared would incite the hoi polloi to riot. playwright, particularly in light of who was These moves include: the Dutch Church involved in his murder the following year? libel; the imprisonment and torture of Whatever Sidney may have known or Thomas Kyd; the arrest, “trial,” and execu- suspected about Baines and Gifford, clearly tions of Greenwood, Barrow, and Penry; the he knew enough, or suspected enough, to arrest and murder of Marlowe; the Cerne turn the matter over to Burghley––or perhaps Abbas inquiry into atheism in the Raleigh

178 Who Killed Kit Marlowe? THE OXFORDIAN Volume V 2002 circle; the arrest and imprisonment of Ben Jonson for his part in The Isle of Dogs; the closure of the London theaters for the same; the book burning carried out by the bishops Recent Books of Interest to Oxfordians in 1599; and the increased tightening of con- trols on the stage and publishing throughout The Marginalia of Edward De Vere's the 1590s. Geneva Bible by , PhD. The third and final incident that leads 8 1/2 x 11, perfect bound, 515 pp, 112 images: most photographic facsimiles from the spook hunters to conclude that Marlowe the de Vere Bible. Publisher Oxenford was a spy is the one that killed him. As in Press, Northampton, MA (July 2001, Flushing the year before, we see Marlowe in $69). To obtain a copy or for information, Deptford, surrounded by thugs, three this post: [email protected]. This ten- time, foremost among them Robert Poley, year study of de Vere’s personal, annotated the most notorious of all government agents. Bible was nominated for the 2001 Bern- The only possible reason why this scenario heimer Prize for the best PhD dissertation in Comparative Literature. would suggest the official version, i.e. that Marlowe was killed as a sort of falling out Shakespeare’s Tutors: The Education of among thieves, is that for some reason, Edward de Vere by Stephanie Hopkins although they have done yeoman service in Hughes. Publisher Paradigm Press (Mar. recovering the facts, only Curtis Breight has 2003, $35). To obtain a copy or for info, post: [email protected]. Hughes had the stomach to see, or at least to publish, examines the education of de Vere from the truth. The men who killed Marlowe his placement with Sir Thomas Smith at were not his colleagues. Marlowe’s colleagues the age of four, through his years with were scholars, actors, writers, poets, and their William Cecil, a period covering his late patrons. The men who killed Marlowe were teens and early twenties. Includes impor- hit men, pure and simple, paid by the gov- tant new information on his formative ernment to eliminate a troublesome writer, years and the brilliant men who shaped his thinking and his goals. just as they were paid to eliminate trouble- some Catholics (Norfolk, Campion, Babing- Shakespeare & the Tudor Rose by ton, Mary Stuart) and troublesome Puritans Elisabeth Sears. Publisher Meadow Geese (Barrow, Greenwood, and Penry). Press. An update of the controversial book Simplest is almost always best. After that has spurred the Oxfordian version of centuries of searching by scholars, nothing the “.” Presents the case that Henry Wriothesley, Earl of has been uncovered that proves, or even sug- Southampton, was the son of Oxford and gests, that Marlowe was a spy. While pay- the Queen. Features full-color portraits of ments to hundreds of intelligencers and Elizabeth, Oxford, and Southampton. informers at home and abroad are listed in Available autumn 2002.

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the Warrants, Marlowe’s name has not been A Celebratory Conference to mark found. We know for certain only that he was the 400th anniversary of the death of beset upon twice by men who are known to Edward DeVere be government agents, men who spied and performed “dirty tricks” for the government, Elizabethan Courtier Poet and Playwright men who, for a price, had entrapped, created Queens’ College, Cambridge disinformation and killed for the government July 7th–10th, 2004 on other occasions, and one man who, if not

The De Vere Society in England directly for the government, worked in the is planning a conference to honour same capacity for men who were closely con- Edward De Vere, the man many people believe is the person who was responsible nected with government officials (i.e. for the plays and poetry known to the world Thomas Walsingham). as the works of "" Yet as long as those who are more excit- This will be a major event for all Oxfordians and other Authorship enthu- ed by “seamy” spy stories than by the strug- siasts. Its aim is to reaffirm the case for gles of artists against the forces of social Edward De Vere as the writer “Shake- s p e a re” through new pre s e n t a t i o n s repression continue to dominate the inquiry, resulting from research into the author- no progress will be gained in discovering or ship question and by keynote addresses f rom eminent “witnesses” to their uncovering the real reasons for Marlowe’s beliefs. It will include speakers from the death. These, if revealed, will, of course, be world of theatre and cinema as well as p resentations from academics in the connected with who he really was: no dou- disciplines of literature and history. ble-talking, double-dealing sneak whose gift T h e re will also be time for light- h e a rted “fringe group” discussions was the ability to snooker fools into a deadly and time to relax and enjoy the beautiful city of Cambridge. Overseas visitors who trap, but a reckless malcontent, a hothead wish to stay on after the conference is with a golden voice, the total opposite of a over will have special rates in nearby hotels. We will arrange visits to places of spy. Forget Graham Greene and Ian Fleming interest with De Vere connections such with their modest talents; think Ovid, as Castle Hedingham and the De Vere Tombs at nearby Bures; Lavenham; Long Dante, Voltaire, Solzhenitsyn, Vaslav Hamel; Melford; Otley Hall; and a performance think Charlie Chaplin and Dalton Trumbo. at Shakespeare’s Globe, preceded by a guided tour of the theatre. Does it matter that the spook hunters

**** keep getting it wrong? Of course it matters, truth always matters, but it should matter to Those who would like to register early or who are interested in presenting a paper authorship scholars in particular because please send name and address by email to: Marlowe is––has to be––an important part of Brian Hicks, Chairman the reason why so many gifted writers felt The De Vere Society they had to hide their identities at this cru- [email protected]. cial moment in English literary history. When we get Marlowe’s story wrong we get

180 Who Killed Kit Marlowe? THE OXFORDIAN Volume V 2002 the story of the English Renaissance wrong. Once again, as with the name “Shakespeare,” THE BLUE BOAR BOOKSTORE we find ourselves on a tangent that leads Oxfordian Books and Pamphlets away from, not towards, the truth. The Seventeenth Earl of Oxford/p-back . . 20.00 Personally, I like Hoffman’s notion that facsimile reprint of 1920 edition by J. Thomas Looney Marlowe was not actually murdered. For one The Mysterious William Shakespeare: . . . 37.50 thing it leaves the Cecils with a little less the Myth and the Reality/2nd edition blood on their hands; surely their purpose (to by , Jr. Shakespeare: Who Was He? The Oxford. . 19.95 shut him up) was as easily fulfilled by an exile Challenge to the Bard of Avon as by a murder. It explains why the sting took by Richard Whalen The Man Who Was Shakespeare...... 5.95 place in Deptford, where ships rode at (a summary of The Mysterious William anchor, waiting for the tide to take them Shakespeare) across the Channel, down the coast of by Charlton Ogburn, Jr. The Letters and Poems of Edward, Earl. . 22.00 Portugal and Spain, through the Gates of of Oxford/a new edition with notes Hercules into the Mediterranean and thence about original sources, etc. to the Near East, the settng for Marlowe’s edited by Katherine Chiljan Alias Shakespeare: Solving the ...... 25.00 most popular plays. It explains the eight Greatest Literary Mystery of All Time hours spent in “conversation” at Eleanor by Joseph Sobran The Anglican Shakespeare ...... 19.95 Bull’s, as time is never spent by people unless by Daniel L. Wright they’re waiting for something to happen, A Hawk from a Handsaw: a Student’s. . . . 12.00 such as the tide to turn, or for something to Guide to the Authorship Debate by Rollin De Vere arrive, such as John Penry’s corpse. Oxford and Byron: a Comparison of Two. . 8.00 If John Penry’s corpse was used as a sub- Similar Personalities/pamphlet. by Stephanie H. Hughes stitute for Marlowe’s it would explain the The Relevance of Robert Greene/pamph. . . 8.00 stab wound in the eye; such a wound tends to by Stephanie H. Hughes bleed less (outwardly) than a stab in the To Catch the Conscience of the King:. . . . . 5.00 Leslie Howard and the Earl of Oxford chest or back of the body, a consideration if by Charles Boyle the body to be stabbed had been dead for Hedingham Castle Guide Book.A history . 3.50 some time. Nicholl notes the unusual place of the Castle and the Earls of Oxford chosen for the execution, suggesting that, Back issues of the Sh a k e s p e a r e Oxford Society Newsletter and TH E OXF O R D I A N are available. Please inquire. unlike his cohorts, Barrow and Greenwood, THE BLUE BOAR BOOKSTORE who were hanged in London, “they” chose to 1555 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 200 hang Penry at an inn on the road halfway Washington, DC 20036-1126 from London to Deptford because they were 206.462.9600 FAX: 202.462.9043 afraid that a mob might rise to defend him. http://www.shakespeareoxford.com/bookstor.htm It’s more likely that the location was chosen Please add 10% of the total for postage and handling. because it was close to Deptford. Trow ques-

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tions whether the coroner’s jury would accept without question the rope burn on the neck The Shakespeare that accompanies hanging; but, if Penry’s Authorship Roundtable execution was one factor in a plot to elimi- nate Marlowe, he could just as easily have Calendar for September 2002 to June 2003 been smothered in a bedroom of the inn, his Saturdays 10:30 am - 12:30 pm execution later reported as a hanging. Who Beverly Hills Library Auditorium that was involved would dare, or even wish, to claim otherwise? September 21 I prefer to think that Marlowe, after a “Romeo & Juliet and Shakespeare’s Calendar” Speaker: Dr. Steven Sohmer severe warning that death would be his lot should he ever return, was given some money November 16 and a passport to the East, the direction “Chaos and Appetite in Troilus and Cressida” towards which his soul had always leaned, Speaker: Frank Dwyer the source of the ancient wisdom he sought (also perhaps where it was not considered January 25 “filthy” to love one’s own sex). He seems to “Shakespeare in Italy” Speaker: Richard Paul Roe me an early version of European artist-adven- turers like T.E. Lawrence, Richard Burton, March 22 Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Rim- “Music at the Court of Henry VIII baud, whose hunger for freedom––intellectu- & Queen Elizabeth” al, emotional and sexual––drew them to the Speaker: Sally Mosher East. John Donne, who must have met June 7 Marlowe in his youth, once wrote, “When I “The Spanish Theater during am gone, dream me some happiness. . . .” Shakespeare’s Time” Because we can never know the full truth of Speaker: Professor Susana Fernandez Marlowe’s disappearance, we are free to reject this “seamy” murder by the dregs of London The Roundtable provides a forum for the study of the Elizabethan theatre with emphasis on an open-minded lowlife and in its place, “dream some happi- exploration of the authorship of the Shakespeare canon. ness,” or a longer life at least, for England’s The Roundtable does not subscribe to any particular theory of authorship or promote any candidate. first great lyric poet. SH H

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