Lightborne

A Novel

Hesse Phillips

A thrilling reimagining of the last days of one of the most famed Elizabethan playwrights—Christopher Marlowe—and of a love that flourishes within the margins.

Christopher Marlowe: playwright, poet, lover. In the plague-stricken streets of Elizabethan England, Kit flirts with danger, leaving a trail of enemies and old flames in his wake. His plays are a roaring success; he seems destined for greatness.

But in the spring of 1593, the queen's eyes are everywhere and the air is laced with paranoia. Marlowe receives an unwelcome visit from his one-time mentor, Richard Baines, a man who knows all of Marlowe’s secrets and is hell-bent on his destruction.

When Marlowe is arrested on charges of treason, heresy, and sodomy—all of which are punishable by death—he is released on bail with the help of Sir Thomas Walsingham. Kit presumes Walsingham to be his friend; in fact, the spymaster has hired an assassin to take care of Kit, fearing that his own sins may come to light.

Now, with the queen's spies and the vengeful Baines closing in on the playwright, Marlowe's last friend in the world is Ingram Frizer, a total stranger who is obsessed with Kit's plays, and who will, within ten days' time, first become Marlowe's lover—and then his killer. Richly atmospheric, emotionally devastating, and heartrendingly imagined, Lightborne is a masterful reimagining of the last days of one of England's most famous literary figures.

Hesse Phillips (they) was raised in rural Pennsylvania but now lives in Spain. Much of their early life was spent in the theater, where they developed a love for Shakespeare and the other Elizabethan/Jacobean dramatists. They earned a BA in theater history at Marlboro College, Vermont, and later a PhD in drama from Tufts University in Boston. While writing their undergraduate thesis on Edward II, they also began working on a novel about Christopher Marlowe that would eventually become Lightborne. They are a proud graduate of Grub Street Boston's acclaimed Novel Incubator program.

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Endorsements & Reviews

"A queer historical reimagining of the last days of Kit Marlowe! With spies and romance and an absolutely devastating denouement, Lightborne is as bloody and beautiful as the great Marlowe’s plays. You don’t need a dissertation on Elizabethan drama to understand this one, but the author’s academic research evolved in parallel with crafting the narrative, and the ease with which they incorporate telling historical details is an incredibly rewarding experience. Lightborne is so much more than its details, no matter how outrageously entertaining, for the soul of this work comes from its clear-eyed portrait of humanity: the best, the worst, and the somewhere-in-between." CrimeReads

“Hesse Phillips’ dazzling Lightborne returns us to a world of more moral certainty but considerably more physical danger, telling the story of Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe, the Elizabethan dramatist and spy, with a thrillingly intense sense of period. As a gay man, Kit is especially vulnerable to blackmail, tangling with malevolent agents of the state while attempting to write his masterpieces. The novel is a hugely impressive, visceral and moving portrait of one of the era’s most captivating and mysterious characters.” The Financial Times

"A thoroughly contemporary take. Phillips links not only Marlowe’s killing, but also the great conspiracy of his time, the Jesuit 'Babington Plot' against Elizabeth I, to betrayed homosexual love. A fast-paced narrative chain of theatrical scenes breathes new life into familiar images of the period." The Irish Times

"A deliciously complex, vivid portrait of a violent and fascinating period, with an addictively charismatic cast of characters. Heart-wrenching, bold and earthy, this book gripped me and wouldn't let me go." Leon Craig, author of Parallel Hells

"Other works of fiction have been written about the turbulent life and still not fully explained death of the Elizabethan dramatist Christopher Marlowe. None has demonstrated the erudition and intensity of Hesse Phillips’s debut novel. Phillips’s Marlowe is a haunted, driven man, more involved in the dangerous world of espionage than the theatre. Told in vivid, punchy prose, LIGHTBORNE is a brilliantly original take on a familiar story." The Sunday Times (UK), "Pick of the Month"

"Imaginative, atmospheric, and heartpoundingly tense, time is running out for Christopher Marlowe in this excellent debut. He seeks refuge from his enemies in the arms of his new lover, but is Frizer as much danger as solace? Forget all the polite queer historical novels that tell no truths – here is one boldly full of them." Neil Blackmore, author of Radical Love

"Absolutely fantastic. A deeply impressive achievement, meticulously researched and fabulously rendered. Genuinely reminiscent of the likes Hilary Mantel or Ken Follett." Niall Bourke, author of Line

"Brings Tudor England – and a marvellously realised Christopher Marlowe – to brilliant life. This is historical fiction at its glittering and transgressive best." Neil Hegarty, author of The Jewel

"A wonderfully vivid and edgy piece of storytelling, the kind of brilliant writing that rescues Historical Fiction from the museum." Joseph O’Connor, author of My Father’s House

"This utterly contemporary reimagining of Marlowe's final days dazzles. It delves into forbidden desire and the cost of genius, culminating in a tragic and haunting conclusion that leaves the reader wanting more. A stunning debut that is masterfully researched and written." Rachel Barenbaum, author of Atomic Anna and A Bend in the Stars