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Tamburlaine Must Die Louise Welsh Books

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Tamburlaine Must Die Louise Welsh Books

Historically overshadowed by the Legend of the Time, Mr. Shakespeare, Christopher (Kit) Marlowe still holds a candle to the Bard, controversies, arguments, beliefs, and proofs aside. Indeed, Marlowe's great plays ("Tamburlaine the Great," "The Jew of Malta," "Doctor Faustus," " Edward II") are classic in their complexities, as now some five centuries have proven. In "Tamburlaine Must Die," Louise Welsh has taken Marlowe and engineered a tautly written (140 pages) three day episode in his life. Alas, it's the last three days of his life, but still a brief segment of it. Welsh manages to capture the tonal integrity and dynamic symmetry of the time and usher these events into an absorbing "mini-mystery/thriller."

One of the celebrated wits (and geniuses) of the Elizabethan stage, Marlowe's life on and off stage was anything but dull as he mesmerized his age (and generations thereafter) with this antics, theatrics, and devotion to his Queen and country. Much has been speculated (and little proved) in all this time; still, his is a life worth examining, and while we may never know the truth, it was still a life that continues to fascinate us. (Anthony Burgess's brilliant "A Dead Man in Deptford" is a highly recommended side-read to this book, incidentally.)

Welsh introduces us (without dispelling any of the rumors, innuendos) to Marlowe enjoying some free time away from the throes of plague-ridden London as a guest of his patron Walsingham,. This respite is suddenly interrupted by a summons from the Privy Council, setting into motion the ultimate actions of these final 72 hours. The Council gives him an offer he thinks he cannot refuse--betray Walter Raleigh or forfeit his own life, due to charges made against him (heresy, among other charges). Verses, deemed heretical by the Council, have appeared about town, signed by Tamburlaine, one of Marlowe's most ruthless characters. The Council is holding Marlowe responsible. And the story line's hook: who is this person and why is he doing these terrible things to our Kit.

Welsh gives us a viable picture of the underside of the Elizabethan world, this world of theatrics and espionage (Marlowe had done spy work for the crown) where apparently honor and ethics don't exist. At the same time she's giving us a history lesson, Welsh also expertly presents an exciting thriller, albeit a brief one. Told in the first person, of course, it ends before his death (readers will know Marlowe's history, surely!) . The author presents us with a central character, for better or for worse, who ends up with all our sympathies. The many varied accounts of his death clearly beside the point, Marlowe's portrait is that of a brilliant, yet human, 29-year-old, a multi-talent genius, a "rock star" of his own time, one who's fate was destined to end before he really got started. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)


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Tamburlaine Must Die Louise Welsh Books Reviews

I read Welsh's first release, 'The Cutting Room', when the paperback was released and I read it during a day off work. Looking back, I wish I'd went to work but my memories of the book were that it was dull. The only interesting part, for me, was Glasgow and being able to comment on places I knew. I don't even remember the ending or how it came about; it just happened and thought along the lines of "Whatever, almost done now!"

So, given that it was a first work, I decided to try her second, the historical novella called 'Tamburlaine Must Die'. Here's the blurb from the inside cover

"1593 and London is a city on edge. Under threat from plague and war, it's a desperate place where strangers are unwelcome and severed heads grin from spikes on Tower Bridge.

Playwright, poet and spy, Christopher Marlowe has three days to live. Three days in which he confronts dangerous government factions, double agents, necromancy, betrayal and revenge in his search for the murderous Tamburlaine, a killer who has escaped from between the pages of his most violent play...

'Tamburlaine Must Die' is the swashbuckling adventure story of a man who dares to defy both God and State - and discovers that there are worse fates than damnation."

From that you would think it was a fun bit of historical fiction rife with twists and turns, dark moments, and something to say on the topics of religion, the state, crime, and the black arts. Instead it's a fast paced dirge bereft of anything resembling excitement or content. But, just to shock you, it has a bit of gratuitous homosexual sex to kick off the proceedings.

Whatever Welsh's intentions were with this novella, they were most certainly not achieved. She sets the story in London, a city for which authors down the years have shown us all the nooks and crannies, but the pages are lifeless. London, who should be a character in herself, comes across as a sleepy hamlet. The novella hints at issues such as religion and politics but they are mostly background mentions, tangential to the story of Marlowe that this book deals with. And, finally, the characters, including the narrator, are lack-lustre, each one failing to leap out of the page which is hardly the stuff of a self-proclaimed swashbuckler. At the very least it could have looked deeper into the Marlowe history rather than seem like a below par version of German film, 'Run Lola Run', reduced to one act.

The problem with Welsh's writing in 'Tamburlaine Must Die' is that she seems to rely too heavily on nouns to create pictures. So, rather than waste paper by building up an atmosphere in a dusty bookshop, for example, she just lists books and other curiosities ballads, woodcuts, poems, romances, prayer books, etc. Despite all the people in the bookshop, there is no life in any of them.

All in all, it's just a dull book with little to say on anything, even when it comes to speculation over the Marlowe myth.
Louise Welsh's "Tamburlaine Must Die" is an enjoyable read, but a vexing one. Christopher "Kit" Marlowe, playwright, lover, and spy, is one of England's great rogues and his mysterious death (accidentally killed in drunken fight or assassinated by higher powers?) is one of the most delightfully intriguing tales to come out of Elizabethan England. So why does Welsh limit herself to 140 small pages (with a big font, no less)?

It surely isn't out of a lack of talent or a lack of familiarity with Marlowe. Welsh is an entertaining writer who dares to tell the story of Marlowe's last days from Marlowe's perspective. A poet and playwright until the end, Marlowe can't help but throw off japes, witty asides, and biting sarcasm as he seeks to escape his doom. Every step rings true in this work, as Marlowe emerges as a selfish hedonist whose survival instinct is perhaps only exceeded by his desire to see his works become immortal.

Welsh also has a command of the dirty, steamy life in the stews of London -- her descriptions of life among the commoners are brief yet vivid.

While one cannot quibble with an author writing a lean, mean treatment of a small subject (considering how much bloat and gas can be found is so many larger works), one wishes that Welsh had bitten off a bit more to chew with Marlowe. Well worth your time (since "Tamburlaine Must Die" commands so little of it) and good for a chuckle or two in addition to some thrills, this book is nevertheless not a "must read" by any stretch of the imagination.
Historically overshadowed by the Legend of the Time, Mr. Shakespeare, Christopher (Kit) Marlowe still holds a candle to the Bard, controversies, arguments, beliefs, and proofs aside. Indeed, Marlowe's great plays ("Tamburlaine the Great," "The Jew of Malta," "Doctor Faustus," " Edward II") are classic in their complexities, as now some five centuries have proven. In "Tamburlaine Must Die," Louise Welsh has taken Marlowe and engineered a tautly written (140 pages) three day episode in his life. Alas, it's the last three days of his life, but still a brief segment of it. Welsh manages to capture the tonal integrity and dynamic symmetry of the time and usher these events into an absorbing "mini-mystery/thriller."

One of the celebrated wits (and geniuses) of the Elizabethan stage, Marlowe's life on and off stage was anything but dull as he mesmerized his age (and generations thereafter) with this antics, theatrics, and devotion to his Queen and country. Much has been speculated (and little proved) in all this time; still, his is a life worth examining, and while we may never know the truth, it was still a life that continues to fascinate us. (Anthony Burgess's brilliant "A Dead Man in Deptford" is a highly recommended side-read to this book, incidentally.)

Welsh introduces us (without dispelling any of the rumors, innuendos) to Marlowe enjoying some free time away from the throes of plague-ridden London as a guest of his patron Walsingham,. This respite is suddenly interrupted by a summons from the Privy Council, setting into motion the ultimate actions of these final 72 hours. The Council gives him an offer he thinks he cannot refuse--betray Walter Raleigh or forfeit his own life, due to charges made against him (heresy, among other charges). Verses, deemed heretical by the Council, have appeared about town, signed by Tamburlaine, one of Marlowe's most ruthless characters. The Council is holding Marlowe responsible. And the story line's hook who is this person and why is he doing these terrible things to our Kit.

Welsh gives us a viable picture of the underside of the Elizabethan world, this world of theatrics and espionage (Marlowe had done spy work for the crown) where apparently honor and ethics don't exist. At the same time she's giving us a history lesson, Welsh also expertly presents an exciting thriller, albeit a brief one. Told in the first person, of course, it ends before his death (readers will know Marlowe's history, surely!) . The author presents us with a central character, for better or for worse, who ends up with all our sympathies. The many varied accounts of his death clearly beside the point, Marlowe's portrait is that of a brilliant, yet human, 29-year-old, a multi-talent genius, a "rock star" of his own time, one who's fate was destined to end before he really got started. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)