8 December 2004
Amstelkerk, Amsterdam

Rodney Bolt will read from and discuss History Play: The Lives and After-life of Christopher Marlowe (HarperCollins, July 2004), a gloriously playful retake of the biographies of Shakespeare and Marlowe. For all those who ever wondered if Shakespeare really did write those incredible works, this is for you...

Date: Wednesday 8 December 2004
Place: Amstelkerk, Amstelveld 10, Amsterdam
(entrance on the Reguliersgracht)
Time: 8pm (doors open 7pm)
Price: €10 (€5 CJP/Students/+65)

We know almost nothing of Shakespeare. Not one manuscript of any of the plays exists; we have no examples of his handwriting – not even a letter – apart from five signatures (all different); his will mentions not a single book (at a time when books were valuable commodoties), his daughters were illiterate, and he left not a penny of his fortune to the school in Stratford (there is, anyway, no record of his ever having studied there, or anywhere else). The first we officially hear of him as a writer is in 1593, the year that Christopher Marlowe – playwright, spy and the first to use blank verse in drama – is killed in Deptford, and apparently buried in an unmarked grave. Shakespeare's first plays bear a strong resemblence to Marlowe's (even to the point of some lines being mirrored word for word).

Rodney Bolt's History Play: The Lives and After-life of Christopher Marlowe (HarperCollins, July 2004) is a gloriously playful retake of the biographies of Shakespeare and Marlowe. Shakespeare's works are unassailable, and will survive any amount of subversion, but by playing with our commonplace history, Rodney Bolt argues that the quasi-religious idol the man has become is perhaps in need of the efforts of a wicked woodworm...

Independent
'With gobsmacking audacity, Bolt recreates an alternative life of Marlowe that compellingly views the known facts from a different angle.'

Independent on Sunday
'Bolt is challenging us to attack mindless conjecture... he has offered us a learned and clever piece of historical investigation.'

The Economist
'Quirky... a scholarly joke... totally different from most biographies.'

Following the talk, Bolt will answer questions from the audience and sign books which will be on sale there, courteousy of Waterstone's Booksellers Amsterdam.

As usual there will be cheap wine, beer and coffee etc. available both before and after the talk, along with cool background music.

This event has been organised by BritLit (British Literature) in collaboration with HarperCollins (London) and Waterstone's Booksellers (Amsterdam).

Additional Information

Venue: Amstelkerk, is a charming white wooden church built in 1668-1670 and where Napoleon's brother once stabled his horses.

Disabled Access: Any questions or special requests please contact BritLit.

Public Transport: The Amstelkerk is a brisk 20-minute walk from Centraal Station at the corner of the Prinsengracht and Reguliersdwarstraat. Tram 4 (Prinsengracht stop), Tram 6, 7, 10 (Frederiksplein).

Tickets and reservations: Tickets can be bought or reserved online via www.britlit.info or by phoning Pip on (020) 420 6775.

BritLit website: www.britlit.info