Who killed Christopher Marlowe?
Published: January 31, 2002
Who killed Christopher Marlowe? M.J. Trow, author of Who Killed Kit Marlowe? (Sutton Publishing), believes that the playwright was murdered because he had discovered evidence that four members of the Queen's Privy Council were atheists—a heresy punishable by death. Marlowe, author of such plays as The Jew of Malta and Doctor Faustus, was a spy, counterspy and government critic—and was himself an atheist. He died in 1593, supposedly in a tavern brawl with three friends. Trow claims to have found evidence of the heresy in a document found in the British Museum—and that Marlowe had hinted at his knowledge in his play, Edward II. Trow believes that Marlowe's companions were promised immunity for carrying out the murder; all three were cleared and later granted titles and influential positions. #
|