Nicholas Bracewell



			...the official web site

The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association is a trade association of owners of retail businesses wholly or substantially devoted to the sale of mystery books.

Visit the IMBA website to find a bookseller near you (applies to USA only)

Edward Marston and Judith Cutler, author of twenty crime novels with a contemporary setting, compare techniques for writing about crime in the past and in the present. Their talk has been given at several libraries, festivals, bookshops and writers' groups in the UK and in America. MURDER ANCIENT AND MODERN is available for hire. Click the email link at the top of the page to request more information.

"Two of the most entertaining speakers on the crime writing circuit" - Raw Edge Magazine

The Vagabond Clown cover

Son of a Devon merchant, Nicholas Bracewell sailed with Drake on the circumnavigation of the globe, an experience that seasoned his outlook on life. He now works as book holder (or stage manager) for Westfield's Men, one of the leading theatre companies in Elizabethan London. The resourceful Bracewell has to save his beloved actors time and again as they are threatened by fierce rivals, assassins, fire, plague, Puritans, confidence tricksters, a grasping landlord and political interference.

THE VAGABOND CLOWN

When their resident clown, Barnaby Gill, breaks a leg, Westfield's Men are forced to tour Kent with Gideon Mussett, a troublesome substitute, whom even Nicholas Bracewell is unable to keep under control. The murder of their new clown and the abduction of their leading actor push Westfield's men to the edge of extinction.

"Steeped in authentic Elizabethan detail, this delectably ribald series continues to serve up equal portions of humour and suspense."
Booklist

"A visit from this delightfully contentious troupe is always a blessing."
New York Times

Purchase online

Amazon UK: Hardcover 292 pages. Published by St Martin's Minotaur, Aug 2003.

Amazon USA: Hardcover 352 pages. Published by St Martin's Minotaur, Aug 2003.

THE COUNTERFEIT CRANK

Counterfeit Crank cover Nicholas Bracewell befriends a young beggar who is trying to eke out a living as a counterfeit crank, pretending to have spectacular epileptic fits in order to get money from gullible bystanders. When the beggar is murdered inside Bridewell, Nicholas has to pose as a beggar himself in order to get inside the notorious institution so that he can solve the crime. Counterfeiting of all kinds is exposed.

"A breathtaking finale... a complex but beguiling tale."
Publishers Weekly

"An outstanding historical."
Library Journal

Purchase online

Amazon UK: Hardcover 272 pages. Published by St Martin's Minotaur, Aug 2004.

Amazon USA: Hardcover 272 pages. Published by St Martin's Minotaur, Aug 2004.

THE MALEVOLENT COMEDY Malevolent Comedy cover

Saul Hibbert's brilliant new play, The Malevolent Comedy, gets a wonderful reception but the spectators do not realise that one of the actors has been murdered during the performance. Every time the play is staged, more tragedies follow. Is the play or the playwright jinxed? Nicholas Bracewell has to fight tooth and nail to save the theatre company, a struggle that involves a duel with Saul Hibbert and some startling revelations.

"A lively and entertaining caper."
Publishers Weekly

"A wild romp with subplots as amusing as those of many an Elizabethan comedy"
Kirkus

Purchase online

Amazon UK: Hardcover 245 pages. Published by St Martin's Minotaur, July 2005.

Amazon USA: Hardcover 288 pages. Published by St Martin's Minotaur, July 2005.

THE PRINCESS OF DENMARK

A fire at the Queen's Head deprives Westfield's Men of their home so they seize the opportunity to travel to Denmark with their patron, Lord Westfield, who is to marry a beautiful young Danish widow. When they reach Elsinore castle, they are given a warm welcome but the murder of Rolfe Harling, who brokered the wedding, changes the whole atmosphere of the place. Danger threatens from all sides, not least from England itself where the father of a young man who died in the fire seeks revenge and dispatches two assassins after the troupe. Princess of Denmark cover They are soon caught up in a complex web of political intrigue and betrayal. Nicholas Bracewell is faced with his most difficult and perilous case yet. When their patron decides that he has changed his mind about the marriage, Nicholas has another problem to solve.

Purchase online

Amazon UK: Hardcover 272 pages. Published by St Martin's Minotaur, August 2006.

Amazon USA: Hardcover 272 pages. Published by St Martin's Minotaur, August 2006.

REVIEWS

"The plot moves briskly as a mystery, the detail gives the book a fascinating array of colours."
- Chicago Tribune

"A richly detailed evocation of time and place, enhanced by vividly diverse characters and a plot that remains suspenseful to the last page."
- Kirkus Reviews

"The Merry Devils is irresistible: an uproarious, funny, lively and intriguing story woven in a rich historical and cultural tapestry."
- The Press Enterprise (California)