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Historical person
1572–1637
Ben Jonson was an English playwright, poet and actor known for satirical drama, court masques and a career shaped by rivalry, patronage and repeated conflict with authority.
Jonson wrote plays including Every Man in His Humour and Volpone and became a leading creator of masques for the court of James VI and I. He worked with major actors and designers, but his sharp satire and participation in theatrical disputes brought imprisonment and official scrutiny.
In Philip Gooden’s An Honourable Murderer, Jonson recruits Nick Revill for a masque connected with the Anglo-Spanish peace celebrations at Somerset House. His theatrical ambition and access to court entertainment place Nick close to diplomats and conspirators when a staged mechanical effect becomes lethal.
Series
The Nick Revill mysteries follow a provincial actor who joins the Chamberlain’s Men near the end of Elizabeth I’s reign. Each investigation mirrors a Shakespeare play being written or performed, placing murder inside rehearsal rooms, inns, country houses, court entertainments and the commercial theatre of London. The sequence…
All books in this series
