Christopher Marlow: Death in Deptford

Overview

The untimely death in 1593 of Christopher Marlowe robbed English literature of one of its greatest dramatists - a man who mentored and influenced no lesser figure than William Shakespeare himself. But it wasn't illness or war that took Marlowe's life - it was violent, bloody murder done in circumstances and for reasons that still cause heated debate. Was Marlowe a spy, done away with by the authorities? Was he killed because of unpaid debts? Or because his plays were seen as Catholic propaganda by a fiercely Protestant regime? Was his death ordered to prevent him revealing that several Privy Councillors were atheists - a crime at the time? Or, most intriguingly, did he fake his own death? It's a fascinating story and we'll examine each theory in detail.