1587, and Mary, Queen of Scots, dies by the executioner’s axe; her head, shorn of its auburn wig, rolling across the platform. Will her death end the ceaseless plotting against Mary’s red-haired cousin, Elizabeth? 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada, is a time of more terror and triumph, not just for queen and court but for the whole of England. The turmoil is reflected in its theatres and under the galleries of inns like London’s “The Queen’s Head” where Lord Westfield’s Men perform. The scene there grows even more tumultuous when one of the actors is murdered by a mysterious stranger during a brawl. Nicholas Bracewell, the company’s bookholder (a role far wider than mere producer) faces two immediate repercussions. The first is to secure a replacement acceptable to its temperamental star — and chief shareholder — Lawrence Firethorn. The second is to keep his promise to the dying Will Fowler and catch his killer. Soon further robberies, accidents, and misfortunes strike Lord Westfield’s Men even as their stage successes swell. Bracewell begins to suspect a conspiracy, not a single murderous act, but where lies the proof? Then the players are rewarded with the ultimate accolade — an appearance at court — and the canny bookholder senses the end to the drama is at hand… First published to great acclaim in 1988, The Queen’s Head anticipated the lure of bawdy, boisterous, yet elegant epics like Shakespeare in Love. Actor and playwright Marston has followed with, to date, ten more lusty, historically grounded, theatrically sound Bracewell mysteries that explore the face of England and reveal his deep love for its rich literary and dramatic heritage. The Roaring Boy was nominated for a 1996 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

Bookholder Nicholas Bracewell, fresh from his triumph holding together his volatile players' company during a treasonous plot against Queen Elizabeth, is set to make the galleries of The Queen's Head ring with laughter with a new comedy, The Merry Devils. The lugubrious landlord is sure mischief will result. Nicholas sees only a harmless comedy that will not summon up real devils, but two actors adept at tumbling. How then, during the crucial scene, do three devils appear on stage, one looking disturbingly real? And what of the deviltry that follow? One imp, in fact, soon lies dead beneath the stage...The author's knowledge of Elizabethan statecraft and his deep affection for the period show in every word.

London is under siege by the Black Plague, closing its theaters and losing its frightened citizens to the countryside. Lord Westfield's Men decide upon the relative safety of the road and a tour of the North. Before they can pack up and depart, one player in the troupe is murdered. As they travel, the company of players managed by its bookholder, Nicholas Bracewell, learns that their arch-rivals, Banbury's Men, have been pirating their best works. Hoping to shake off Banbury's Men, actor Lawrence Firethorn eventually leads his troupe to York where all is revealed in a thrilling performance.

While his acting troupe, Lord Westfield's Men, searches for a new home—and finds it in The Nine Giants—stage manager Nicholas Bracewell is confronted by the murder of a young man

Though the lusty star of Lord Westfield's Men, Laurence Firethorn, is always ripe for seducing women bewitched by his art, the vicious rivalry that disrupts the acting troupe erupts between two other players. Owen Elias is a surly, envious Welshman, while Sebastian Carrick is an amiable and attractive gentleman. Their onstage duels become ever more realistic, but it is an axe that splits open Sebastian's head one night in a Clerkenwell alley. Company book holder Nicholas Bracewell, accustomed to damage control, begins to investigate the victim's death and learns that in life, he was prone to make enemies from his weakness for women and his willingness to welch on debts. A web of deception has in fact been spun that stretches from lowly to high ranking courtesans, all the way to the Virgin Queen. And what of the horse Nimbus, promised to perform Pegasus-like at the very top of St. Paul's Church?

Marston's new novel continues the adventures of Nicholas Bracewell, who handles details backstage for Lord Westfield's Men, an Elizabethan theater troupe. When a young woman is poisoned before she can deliver a message to Nicholas, he takes leave to pursue a mystery from his own childhood.

Dame Fortune has abandoned Lord Westfield's men to calamity... One member of the popular London acting troupe has died. Their present production is a failure. Then an anonymous playwright hands company mainstay Nicholas Bracewell a chance for salvation: a new script that exposes a tragic miscarriage of justice in a murder case. News of the impending production of The Roaring Boy swiftly reaches high places. Long before rehearsals begin, the company is menaced by enemies who target both script and players for destruction. For The Roaring Boy establishes the innocence of the two people executed for the crime and points a bold finger at the real murderer. Not even Lord Westfield, the company's powerful patron, can save the troupe from the mortal danger that now encompasses them...

Jonas Applegarth is a brilliant but belligerent playwright. When his play, The Misfortunes of Marriage, is performed by Lord Westfield's Men, it causes an uproar. All of Applegarth's enemies attack the company. Nicholas Bracewell defends the playwright loyally, but alas, Applegarth is soon found hanged by the neck. It is only the first of many mysteries that Nicholas has to solve. Lord Westfield's Men are furious when they are satirized by a rival children's theater company at the Blackfriars playhouse. A second attack by the killer-laughing hangman-throws the actors in further disarray. Nicholas is under enormous pressure, not least because he is trying to rekindle his romance with Anne Hendrik by helping her to fend off an aggressive suitor. His beloved company is under threat as never before, and he has to call on all of his resources to rescue them. ""Marston's wit and vivid evocation of Elizabethan London's sights and smells provide a delightfully ribald backdrop for this clever series."" -Publishers Weekly ""A delightfully dazzling period piece suffused with humor, wit and atmospheric drama."" -Booklist Edward Marston, under his real name, Keith Miles, was raised in Wales and went on to study modern history at Oxford. He has been a university lecturer, radio, television, and theatre dramatist, and in addition to writing has worked as an actor and director. His Elizabethan novel, The Roaring Boy, was a 1996 Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee for best novel. He lives in Kent.

The Westfield Men are devastated when an actor is murdered during their first performance at the court of Rudolph II, and when Nicholas Bracewell realizes that he had been the intended victim, he needs all his skills to rescue the company from danger.

Westfield's Men are flying high after a performance of The Insatiate Duke. However, victory is bittersweet as they are soon faced with dissolution; were it not for one of the company's rising stars they have acquired a new benefactor. However, before they have the chance to unmask this guardian angel, one of the group is found brutally murdered.

London is in the grip of an icy winter and Westfield's Men are out of work. Invited to perform at a manor house in Essex, they accept willingly even though the offer comes with two conditions: they must perform an entirely new play and agree to take a new apprentice, Davy Stratton, into the company. At first it seems as though Davy is a talented and eager addition to the theater troupe. However, he soon disrupts the group's camaraderie when he quarrels with the other apprentices and runs away on a reconnaissance trip to Essex. Nicholas Bracewell just manages to hold the group together during the rehearsals for their new play, The Witch of Colchester. But when the lead actor succumbs to a series of strange illnesses, identical to those which afflict his character in the play, some members of Westfield's Men fear there may be a witch among them. Then a prominent audience member dies during the opening night performance, and Nicholas Bracewell has to confront the deadliest foe of all. Rich in historical detail and wonderfully evoking the golden age of theater, The Devil's Apprentice is an exciting, suspenseful addition to this Edgar nominated series.

Westfield's Men, the Elizabethan theater troupe at the heart of Edward Marston's intricate and popular series, are enjoying good fortune in their native London. Their talented playwright is at work on his next opus, set to open in a few short weeks, and the group's trusty stage manager and reliable problem-solver Nicholas Bracewell is looking forward to a productive and calm season. Unfortunately for Nicholas, his friendship with Frank Quilter, a young actor who's just joined the troupe, is about to cause him a lot of trouble. Frank's father has been arrested and accused of a murder he didn't commit, and before anyone can figure out what to do he's convicted and hanged for his crime. Destroyed, young Frank promises to avenge his father, at the expense of the play Westfield's Men have contracted to perform. Nicholas, who's loyalty is split between the company and his new friend, agrees to help Frank on condition that he fulfill his obligations as an actor. Enter an unlikely ally in the form of one Moll Comfrey, a comely young saleswoman with more to sell than meets the eye. She has the key to the whole mystery hidden somewhere on her person, and it's up to Nicholas to find out what she's hiding (by whatever means necessary) before the theater, not to mention Frank's life, goes dark.

When unexpected disaster strikes Lord Westfield's Men during a packed performance, Nicholas Bracewell, the theater company's stage manager and all around performer of miracles, must save the day once again. A melee caused by disguised men is brought under control, but before the troupe can lament their destroyed set Nick discovers a body in the stands with a knife sticking out of it's back. They soon realize they are out one theater and one clown: Barnaby Gill, always hilarious on the stage and hopelessly curmudgeonly off, has broken his leg. With long months of repairs before them, Westfield's Men embark on a tour of the Kent countryside in order to salvage some of the down time. They hire a stand-in for Gill, one Gideon Mussett, a gifted comedian and an even more gifted drunk. It seems no clown is perfect; while Gill has never been a barrel of laughs when not in front of an audience, Musset simply doesn't seem to know when to quit being funny. Their major wound bandaged, no matter how temporarily, Nick and the troupe are hoping to leave their troubles behind. But misfortune follows them at every turn, and the company finds that no matter what they do or where they go someone very sinister is just moments behind. It's up to Nick Bracewell to find out what's going on, and exactly how it ties in to their wayward comedian. Will the Vagabond Clown prophecy the end of Westfield's Men, and perhaps the demise of Nick himself? Longtime readers of mystery master Edward Marston will line up to find out in this suspenseful entry in a series that never disappoints.

Nicholas Bracewell finds his job with the London theater troupe Westfield's Men complicated by an ailing playwright, the disappearance of the group's costumes, a troublesome gambler, a pair of con artists, and murder, in a new historical mystery from the Edgar-nominated series.

The theaters of Elizabethan England can be a very dangerous environment. With dozens of troupes competing for the attentions of a fickle theater-going public, rival companies regularly resort to nefarious activities to thwart a competitor's success, tensions occasionally erupt into violence and, in some instances, the result is murder. So it is no surprise that Westfield's Men, the most successful troupe in London and a prime target for jealousy and resentment, are plagued by a series of practical jokes. But when one of their actors is murdered, the humor turns distinctly sour. Appalling events continue: Lawrence Firethorn, actor-manager, is stalked by a mysterious lady; the sole copy of The Malevolent Comedy, the company's new play, is stolen; their leading apprentice is abducted; and there is an attempt on the life of Lord Westfield, their patron. It's soon clear that someone more vicious than a practical jokester is trying to destroy the troupe. Nicholas Bracewell, the resourceful book holder, has an almighty struggle to save his beloved company from certain demise. Of course thwarting disaster is Nick's specialty, and Edward Marston's longtime readers will thoroughly enjoy this suspense-filled, raucous romp filled with the delightful backstage antics of mystery fiction's favorite ensemble cast.

Winter approaches and Westfield's Men are out of work. When their widowed patron decides to marry again, he chooses a Danish bride with vague associations to the royal family. Since the wedding will take place in Elsinore, the troupe is invited to perform as guests of King Christian IV. One of the plays they select is The Princess of Denmark—-and it will prove a disastrous choice. Westfield's Men soon find themselves embroiled in political intrigue and religious dissension. Their patron, who has only seen a miniature of his future bride, is less enthusiastic when he actually meets the lady, but he can hardly withdraw. Murder and mayhem dogs the company until they realize that they have a traitor in their ranks. It is left to Nicholas Bracewell to solve a murder, unmask the villain, and rescue Lord Westfield from his unsuitable princess of Denmark.