Book
The Pale Companion
First published 2002
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.
Historical Periods
Historical people
More from this period
5 more top-rated novels about Elizabethan Travelling Players and Theatre
Ranked by rating and voting volume; books already shown on this page are omitted.
More by the author
Other books by Philip Gooden
Discover more
Authors similar to Philip Gooden
Recommended from shared genres and periods.
John Pilkington
28 books
Rosemary Sutcliff
38 books