The Pale Companion

by Philip Gooden Book 3 in the Nick Revill series.

First published 2002

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2.5(5)

Wiltshire, midsummer 1601. Nick Revill and the Chamberlain’s Men travel across the downs to perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream for a noble wedding. The country-house celebration is strained by an arranged marriage, old family hostility and the presence of Stonehenge on the surrounding landscape.

A suspected suicide is followed by murder, turning the private performance into an inquiry among hosts, servants and players. Nick must separate theatrical disguise from deliberate deception while the play’s enchanted lovers and divided households provide an unsettling commentary on coercion, inheritance and the danger facing the intended bride.