Philip Gooden – författare

''Highly entertaining'' Sunday TimesIn the last decade of Elizabeth I''s reign, Nick Revill, an aspiring young actor, comes to London seeking fame and fortune. Once there he gains employment with the Chamberlain''s Men.Thrown out of his digs over an unfortunate accident, Nick is offered lodgings at a wealthy Thameside mansion by a black-clad youth whose father has just died and whose mother has remarried his uncle. Pondering on the similarities between the young man''s story and William Shakespeare''s newest tragedy, Hamlet, Nick is charged with the task of finding out whether foul play was involved in the death of the old man and hasty remarriage of his young, lusty wife.As Nick works his way ever closer to the truth, the finger of suspicion begins to point to his enigmatic employer Mr William Shakespeare - actor, author and shareholder in the Chamberlain''s Men . . .The first gripping historical mystery in the Nick Revill series, set in the bustling theatrical world of William Shakespeare.Praise for Philip Gooden:''Another clever criminal plunge into history'' Guardian''The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale'' Sunday Telegraph ''The book has much in common with the film Shakespeare in Love - full of colourful characters . . . but the book has an underlying darkness'' Crime Time''Historical mystery fans are in for a treat'' Publishers Weekly

''Another clever criminal plunge into history'' GuardianElizabeth I is nearing the end of her reign with no direct heir and plots and rumours of rebellion abound. The Queen''s former favourite, the Earl of Essex, appears to be eager to protect the throne, but some believe he intends to seize it. In the world of the theatre, the Chamberlain''s Men are approached by a member of Essex''s inner circle.He offers them money to put on a special performance of Shakespeare''s "Richard II" - the treasonous drama of monarchy deposed and murdered. And player Nick Revill finds himself forced to act as a government spy and keep watch on his own company. But then the murders start.The second historical murder mystery in the Nick Revill series, set in the bustling theatrical world of William Shakespeare.Praise for Philip Gooden:''Highly entertaining'' Sunday Times''The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale'' Sunday Telegraph''The book has much in common with the film Shakespeare in Love - full of colourful characters . . . but the book has an underlying darkness'' Crime Time''Historical mystery fans are in for a treat'' Publishers Weekly

''Highly entertaining'' Sunday TimesMidsummer 1601. Nick Revill and his fellow actors in the Chamberlain''s Men are journeying across the Wiltshire Downs for a country-house presentation of Shakespeare''s A Midsummer Night''s Dream.It should be a pleasant, well-paid jaunt to celebrate a noble marriage, but when the actors arrive at their destination, Instede House, they enter a tense atmosphere. Lord Elcombe is pushing his older son into a marriage that the son seems set against, while in the nearby woods a wild man called Robin talks in riddles of long-hidden family secrets. In another quarter of the great estate lodges a travelling band of fire-and-brimstone morality players called the Paradise Brothers. The first death, when it occurs, looks like suicide, but Nick isn''t so sure . . . Then a second murder happens right under his nose . . . and turns the Dream into a nightmare.The third Shakespearean murder mystery in the Nick Revill series, set during the reign of the formidable Elizabeth I.Praise for Philip Gooden:''Another clever criminal plunge into history'' Guardian''The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale'' Sunday Telegraph''The book has much in common with the film Shakespeare in Love - full of colourful characters . . . but the book has an underlying darkness'' Crime Time''Historical mystery fans are in for a treat'' Publishers Weekly

''Another clever criminal plunge into history'' GuardianOn a foggy morning in 1602, a boyhood friend of Nick Revill arrives in London. When Peter Agate announces that he wants to try his hand at acting, what can Nick do but offer him a part with his own company, the Chamberlain''s Men, who are putting on a private production of Shakespeare''s Troilus and Cressida for the lawyers of Middle Temple.Yet within days Peter Agate is dead, stabbed to death at Nick''s lodgings - the beginning of a sequence of violent deaths, each somehow implicating Nick himself. To avoid the hangman''s noose Nick must discover the real murderer among a cast of suspects, including an aristocratic brother and sister, a troublemaker from a rival company and an ex-actor who once saw the Devil himself on stage...The fourth historical murder mystery in the Nick Revill series, set in the bustling theatrical world of William Shakespeare.Praise for Philip Gooden:''Highly entertaining'' Sunday Times''The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale'' Sunday Telegraph''The book has much in common with the film Shakespeare in Love - full of colourful characters . . . but the book has an underlying darkness'' Crime Time''Historical mystery fans are in for a treat'' Publishers Weekly

''Highly entertaining'' Sunday TimesIt''s the summer of 1604 and the Spanish are in London. Many years after the ill-fated Armada, they are negotiating a peace treaty with the English. Nick Revill''s acting company is given a ceremonial role at the celebrations, but not everybody welcomes this outbreak of peace. In the shifting world of the court there are factions. In the Tower of London sits that implacable enemy of the Spanish, Sir Walter Raleigh, and he has friends on the outside who may try to sabotage the negotiations.Nick, meanwhile, is trying to get on with his playing. Invited by Shakespeare''s rival, Ben Jonson, to take part in a masque at Somerset House where the Spanish are lodged, Nick is caught up in a conspiracy. During a rehearsal the courtier Sir Philip Blake dies an apparently accidental death when he tumbles from a ''Deus ex machina'' chair which is lowering him to the stageThe sixth Shakespearean murder mystery in the Nick Revill series, set during the reign of the formidable Elizabeth I.Praise for Philip Gooden:''Another clever criminal plunge into history'' Guardian''The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale'' Sunday Telegraph''The book has much in common with the film Shakespeare in Love - full of colourful characters . . . but the book has an underlying darkness'' Crime Time''Historical mystery fans are in for a treat'' Publishers Weekly

''Another clever criminal plunge into history'' GuardianElizabeth I approaches the end of her illustrious reign, the plague is raging in London, and the Privy Council has ordered the theaters closed. Still, author Philip Gooden''s fifth novel in the popular Shakespearean series brings us a great mystery as actor-sleuth Nick Revill and the Chamberlain''s Men travel to Oxford, where a local physician, Dr. Hugh Fern, has commissioned a private performance of Romeo and Juliet.While Fern''s motive is obscure-an attempt to reconcile two feuding families to the prospect of a marriage, perhaps; or maybe simply a ploy to get himself a role in the production-his fate is not. Indeed, he is decidedly dead, when his body is discovered during a performance at the Golden Cross Inn. No matter that the deceased lies inside a locked room or that the pestilence has followed the Chamberlain troupe from London, Revill is convinced Fern has not succumbed to natural causes.Nor is Fern''s death the only one that rouses Revill''s suspicions. The mysteries multiply as a strange band of men in cowls patrols the town at night, a simple carter meets a baffling end, and a corpse changes its shoes.The fifth Shakespearean murder mystery in the Nick Revill series, set during the reign of the formidable Elizabeth I.Praise for Philip Gooden:''Highly entertaining'' Sunday Times''The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale'' Sunday Telegraph''The book has much in common with the film Shakespeare in Love - full of colourful characters . . . but the book has an underlying darkness'' Crime Time''Historical mystery fans are in for a treat'' Publishers Weekly

Once upon a time, the worst words you could utter were short, simple and tended to be four letters in length. Now things are more complicated. To be insulted as a ''snowflake'' or an ''expert'' is arguably worse than being called a **** or a **** or even a ****.So what are today''s ''bad words'' and how are they different from yesterday''s taboo expressions? This entertaining guide to the shifting sands of bad language is indispensable in an increasingly divided world in which abuse becomes ever more widespread and vituperative.Philip Gooden shows how and why taboo words and contentious expressions, including those four-letter ones, were first used in English. He discusses the ways such words have changed over the years and explores how a single syllable or two may possess an almost magical power to offend, distress or infuriate. Bad Words investigates the most controversial and provocative words in the English language in a way that is both anecdotal and analytical. Combining intrigue and scandal, the book delves into expressions connected to religion, ethnicity, nationality, politics, swearing and oaths, and includes contemporary issues like political correctness and elitism.