Tamburlaine Must Die
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 First edition | |
| Author | Louise Welsh |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Canongate Books |
Publication date | 2004 |
| Pages | 160 pages |
| ISBN | 1-84195-625-2 |
| OCLC | 57785232 |
Tamburlaine Must Die is a novella written by Louise Welsh, which imagines the last days of Christopher Marlowe's life in 1593. The novella was published in 2004 by Canongate Books.
This novella is set in a plague-ridden London in 1593. Someone calling himself "Tamburlaine", the name of the hero in one of Marlowe's most famous plays, has written a libelous and heretical pamphlet in a style of writing similar to Marlowe's. Marlowe is called before the Privy Council which accuses him of writing the pamphlet; however, he protests his innocence. Marlowe is sentenced to death for this blasphemous writing and only has three days to figure out who really wrote the pamphlet and track that individual down. Marlowe becomes entangled in a web of intrigue, plots and counterplots before his eventual murder.
Factual basis
The novella is based on the last days of Marlowe's life. An individual writing under the name Tamburlaine published a bill about London threatening Protestant refugees who had settled in the city. The author wrote in the same style and alluded to Marlowe several times. A few short days later, Marlowe was murdered by an acquaintance after arguing over a bill. To this day, there is still controversy regarding the reasons for and circumstances of Marlowe's death.
The title of the novella was taken from the last words spoken by Tamburlaine in Marlowe's play Tamburlaine the Great: "Tamburlaine, the scourge of God, must die."