Ros Barber – författare

*WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE*'Sharp, concise, stunningly visual' Sunday TimesOn 30th May, 1593, a celebrated young playwright was killed in a tavern brawl in London. That, at least, was the official version. Now Christopher Marlowe reveals the truth: that his 'death' was an elaborate ruse to avoid being convicted of heresy; that he was spirited across the Channel to live on in lonely exile; that he continued to write plays and poetry, hiding behind the name of a colourless man from Stratford - one William Shakespeare. With the grip of a thriller and the emotional force of a sonnet, this remarkable novel in verse gives voice to a man who was brilliant, passionate and mercurial. Memoir, love letter, confession, settling of accounts and a cry for recognition as the creator of some of the most sublime works in the English language, The Marlowe Papers brings Christopher Marlowe and his era to vivid life. 'The best book I've read for a long time. Truly innovative, truly original, and a powerful poetic journey to another truth' Benjamin Zephaniah'Rich and charmingly playful' Sunday Telegraph

The new novel from the award-winning author of The Marlowe Papers April is angry. Dr Finlay Logan is broken. Only nineteen, April is an elective mute, accused of a religiously motivated atrocity. Logan, a borderline suicidal criminal psychologist, must assess her sanity in a world where - ten years after the death of Richard Dawkins - moves have been made to classify religious fundamentalism as a form of mental illness. Asking fundamental questions about the nature of reality, Barber skillfully explores the balance between the emotional and rational sides of human experience. Told in Ros Barber’s trademark mesmerizing prose, Devotion is an extraordinary, provocative novel from one of the brightest rising stars in fiction.

The bestselling 30-Second series takes a revolutionary approach to learning about those subjects you feel you should really understand. Each title selects a popular topic and dissects it into the 50 most significant ideas at its heart. Every idea, no matter how complex, is explained in 300 words and one image, all digestible in just 30 seconds. 30-Second Shakespeare uses this unique approach to grapple with the worlds most famous playwright. From what we know of his life and the intrigue of the authorship question, to uncoding the meanings of key concepts, themes and motifs, and the Bards extraordinary enduring literary and linguistic legacy.

Ros Barber’s second book forms a meditation on human loss; it is a more personal and autobiographical collection than her first, described by Neil Rollinson as ‘an honest, unflinching and hugely satisfying debut’. Sarah Law described her as ‘a ‘traditional’ contemporary poet along the lines of Larkin’ and it is Barber’s sure hand with rhyme and meter that gives the hard material of these poems (both personal losses and those experienced through others) their steady focus and makes them so readable. Throughout, the poetry remains strong, thoughtful and refreshing.