Sign-In
Cart
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Hardcover
Literary FiguresMedieval & Renaissance HistoryBritish History
Publisher Price: $31.99
ISBN13: 9780393882278
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: Sep 9 2025
Pages: 352
Weight: 1.40
Height: 1.40 Width: 6.30 Depth: 9.10
Language: English
In repressive Elizabethan England, artists are frightened into dull conventionality; foreigners are suspect; popular entertainment largely consists of coarse spectacles, animal fights, and hangings. Into this crude world of government censorship and religious authoritarianism comes an ambitious cobbler's son from Canterbury with a daring desire to be known--and an uncanny ear for Latin poetry. A torment for most schoolboys, yet for a few, like Christopher Marlowe, a secret portal to beauty, visionary imagination, transgressive desire, and dangerous skepticism.
What Marlowe seizes in his rare opportunity for a classical education, and what he does with it, brings about a spectacular explosion of English literature, language, and culture. His astonishing literary success will, in turn, nourish the talent of a collaborator and rival, William Shakespeare.
Dark Renaissance illuminates both Marlowe's times and the origins and significance of his work--from his erotic translations of Ovid to his portrayal of unfettered ambition in a triumphant Tamburlaine to Doctor Faustus, his unforgettable masterpiece about making a pact with the devil in exchange for knowledge. Introducing us to Marlowe's transgressive genius in the form of a thrilling page-turner, Stephen Greenblatt brings a penetrating understanding of the literary work to reveal the inner world of the author, bringing to life a homosexual atheist who was tormented by his own compromises, who refused to toe the party line, and who was murdered just when he had found love. Meanwhile, he explores how the people Marlowe knew, and the transformations they wrought, gave birth to the economic, scientific, and cultural power of the modern world including Faustian bargains with which we reckon still.
1 different editions
Also available
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Paperback
Also from
Greenblatt, Stephen
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Paperback
Also in
British History
The Secret Life of the Savoy: Glamour and Intrigue at the World's Most Famous Hotel
Williams, Olivia
Paperback
The Rise of Thomas Cromwell: Power and Politics in the Reign of Henry VIII, 1485-1534
Everett, Michael
Paperback
The Secret Way to War: The Downing Street Memo and the Iraq War's Buried History
Danner, Rk
Danner, Mark
Paperback
The Traveler: One Man's Quest for Humanity from the South Seas to Revolutionary Paris
Wulf, Andrea
Hardcover
How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy's Guide to Silencing Women
Venditozzi, Zoe
Mitchell, Claire
Paperback
The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery
Kara, Siddharth
Hardcover
The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777
Atkinson, Rick
Paperback
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
Larson, Erik
Paperback
The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780
Atkinson, Rick
Hardcover
Radical Duke: How One Aristocrat-And the American Revolution-Transformed Britain
Allen, Danielle
Hardcover
Witches: A History of Witchcraft, Witch-Hunters, and a King's Obsession: 1562-1735
Veerapen, Steven
Hardcover
Rebel of the Regency: The Scandalous Saga of Caroline of Brunswick, Britain's Queen Without a Crown
Foster, Ann
Hardcover
With a Little Help from Their Friends: The Beatles and the People Who Made Them
Maconie, Stuart
Hardcover
The Defector: The Untold Story of the KGB Agent Who Saved Mi5 and Changed the Cold War
Kerbaj, Richard
Hardcover
The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777
Atkinson, Rick
Hardcover
The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery
Kara, Siddharth
Paperback
The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas
Newman, Brooke N.
Hardcover
The Secrets of Eaton Square: Sex, Scandal, and Infamy on the Road to Buckingham Palace
Larman, Alexander
Hardcover
Secret Language of Victorian Jewelry: The History and Lore of Gems, Charms, and Talismans
Azzarito, Amy
Hardcover
The Dream Factory: London's First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare
Swift, Daniel
Hardcover
Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America
Shorto, Russell
Paperback
The Confessions of Samuel Pepys: Private Revelations from Britain's Most Famed Diarist
de la Bédoyère, Guy
Hardcover
Things We Found in the Ground: Discovering the History Buried Beneath Our Feet
Gray, Lucie
Bruce, Ellie
Paperback
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--And How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
Johnson, Steven
Paperback
Mill Dust and Dreaming Bread: Exploring Scottish Folk Belief and Folk Magic
Richardson-Read, Scott
Paperback
Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America
Shorto, Russell
Hardcover
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Paperback
Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World
Buchanan, Patrick J.
Paperback
The Painter's Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution
Anishanslin, Zara
Hardcover
The Quest for El Dorado: Sir Walter Ralegh and the Search for the City of Gold
Gibbins, David
Hardcover
Queer Enlightenments: A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers, and Homemakers
Delaney, Anthony
Hardcover
Kennedy's Only Hero: How Jfk's Obsession with Winston Churchill Defined His Presidency
Nelson, Joel
Hardcover
How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It
Herman, Arthur
Paperback
Scottish History and Mythology: An Enthralling Journey Through Scotland's Past and Legendary Myths
Wellman, Billy
Hardcover
Mill Dust and Dreaming Bread: Exploring Scottish Folk Belief and Folk Magic
Richardson-Read, Scott
Hardcover
A Guide to Regency Dress: From Corsets and Breeches to Bonnets and Muslins
Davidson, Hilary
Hardcover
The Men Who Lost America: British Command during the Revolutionary War and the Preservation of the Empire
O'Shaughnessy, Andrew J.
Paperback
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
Larson, Erik
Hardcover
Cromwell's Spy: From the American Colonies to the English Civil War: The Life of George Downing
Sewell, Dennis
Hardcover
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
Millard, Candice
Paperback
The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime
Flanders, Judith
Paperback
Republic and Empire: Crisis, Revolution, and America's Early Independence
O'Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson
Burnard, Trevor
Hardcover
Fakers: A Top-Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries on the Disinformation Front Line
Cormac, Rory
Hardcover
The Intellectual Origins of American Slavery: English Ideas in the Early Modern Atlantic World
Harpham, John Samuel
Hardcover
Stowaway: The Disreputable Exploits of the Rat - A New Scientist Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Shute, Joe
Paperback
The Big Hop: The First Non-Stop Flight Across the Atlantic Ocean and Into the Future
Rooney, David
Paperback
Converts: From Oscar Wilde to Muriel Spark, Why So Many Became Catholic in the 20th Century
McDonagh, Melanie
Hardcover
Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son
Cook, Kevin
Paperback
The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook
Sides, Hampton
Hardcover
Scotland's Forgotten Past: A History of the Mislaid, Misplaced and Misunderstood
Moffat, Alistair
Paperback
Whispers from Celtic Seas: The True Meanings of Ancient Stories from Northwest Europe
Nunn, Patrick
Hardcover
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft & Mary Shelley
Gordon, Charlotte
Paperback
The Official Bridgerton Guide to Entertaining: How to Cook, Host, and Toast Like a Member of the Ton: A Cookbook
Timberlake, Emily
Hardcover
Our Island Story: A History of the Kings, Queens and Battles of England, Scotland and Britain for Boys and Girls
Marshall, H. E.
Paperback
A Spy Amongst Us: Daniel Defoe's Secret Service and the Plot to End Scottish Independence
Mierowsky, Marc
Hardcover
They Fought Alone: The True Story of the Starr Brothers, British Secret Agents in Nazi-Occupied France
Glass, Charles
Paperback
The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect: The Last Indie Music Scene 2000-2010
Warren, Janine
Hardcover
Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World
Bouverie, Tim
Paperback
A Vintage Victorian Christmas Sticker, Color & Activity Book: Over 200 Unique Stickers
Editors of Chartwell Books
Paperback
Anne Boleyn: Reputation, Revolution, Religion, and the Queen Who Changed History
Tatarnic, Martha
Hardcover
Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World
Bouverie, Tim
Hardcover
The Story of Tudor Art: A History of Tudor England Through Its Art and Objects
Faraday, Christina J.
Hardcover
Forgotten Churches: Exploring England's Hidden Treasures: The Sunday Times Bestseller
Sherlock, Luke
Hardcover
Shots Heard Round the World: America, Britain, and Europe in the Revolutionary War
Ferling, John E.
Hardcover
Scotland: A Journey through Scottish History, Battles, Clans, Highlanders, Myths, Legends & More
Brought Alive, History
Paperback
The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock
Worsley, Lucy
Paperback
The Official Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook: Teatime Drinks, Scones, Savories & Sweets
Downton Abbey
Hardcover
Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America's Revolutionary Era
Bunn, Mike
Hardcover
The Stuff of History: A Curated Compendium of Curious Objects and Forgotten People
Moore, Steven
Hardcover