Christopher Marlowe Spy Thriller

by Steven Veerapen 3 books in this series

The Christopher Marlowe Spy Thrillers imagine the playwright as an intelligence operative in the years immediately before his literary fame. The Queen’s Gold is set in 1585 amid privateering and the worsening conflict with Spain; The Queen’s Jewel follows the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587; and The Queen’s Fire places Marlowe in the Spanish Armada crisis of 1588.

Christopher Marlowe’s historical links with government intelligence provide the basis for the fiction, while Thomas Lewgar and the principal missions are invented. The three novels were also collected in The Queen’s Men omnibus; HBS stores the constituent novels individually so the omnibus is not treated as a fourth narrative book.

Reading order

Books in this series (3 books)

1. The Queen’s Gold

Steven Veerapen

First published 2021

2.5(5)

England, 1585. After the wreck of the Sparrowhawk, rumours of lost treasure connected with Francis Drake draw the young Christopher Marlowe and fictional agent Thomas Lewgar into a contest involving merchants, courtiers and secret intelligence. What begins as a hunt for gold becomes a mission in…

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2. The Queen’s Jewel

Steven Veerapen

First published 2022

2.5(5)

London, 1587. The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots has deepened the danger surrounding Elizabeth I, and Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Lewgar are drawn into a new intelligence problem involving Catholic conspirators, a disputed royal claim and the mysterious object known as the Queen’s Jewel. Mary’s…

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3. The Queen’s Fire

Steven Veerapen

First published 2023

2.5(5)

Summer 1588. As Philip II’s Armada prepares to challenge England, Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Lewgar are sent west into Devon and Cornwall to investigate Spanish agents and threats to the coastal defences. The approaching fleet turns local suspicion and intelligence work into part of a national…

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