Description

BOOK OF THE YEAR – EVENING STANDARD, THE OBSERVER and THE TIMES

‘Beautifully written and completely convincing’ Observer

‘An excellent novel – riotous and abundant, full of vivid, dirty life’ Guardian

‘Osman brings the underworld of Elizabethan London to life’ Sandra Newman, author of Julia

On a rooftop in Elizabethan London two worlds collide. Shay is a messenger-girl and trainer of hawks who sees the future in the patterns of birds. Nonesuch is the dark star of the city’s fabled child theatre scene, as famous as royalty yet lowly as a beggar.

Together they create The Ghost Theatre: a troupe staging magical plays in London’s hidden corners. As their hallucinatory performances incite rebellion among the city’s outcasts, the pair’s relationship sparks and burns against a backdrop of the plague and a London in flames. Their growing fame sweeps them up into the black web of the Elizabethan court, where Shay and Nonesuch discover that if they fly too high, a fall is sure to come…

Fantastical and captivating, The Ghost Theatre charts the rise and dramatic destruction of a dream born from love and torn apart by betrayal.

‘Wildly inventive and full of fantastical elements jostling alongside gritty realism’ The Times

‘Rich and evocative with shades of Angela Carter’ Ever Dundas

‘A story of rebellion and magic, of mysticism and broken love in the streets and theatres and rooftops of Elizabethan London. Beautifully written, delicate and sad. I’m still haunted by it’ Mariana Enriquez

‘Brings the underworld of Elizabethan London to life with its child theatres, rioting apprentices and anarchic world, its jumble of squalor and glamour… larger-than-life heroes raise child rebellions; pursue exalted, treacherous love affairs… Glorious!’ Sandra Newman

‘Hauntingly beautiful … Thrilling and thought-provoking’ Independent
Readers LOVE The Ghost Theatre
‘An incredible novel that completely transported me’
‘Mat Osman is a magical writer’
‘One of those books you find yourself thinking about long after the final page’
‘A captivating and brilliant novel’
‘Mesmerising… I didn’t want it to end’
‘A magical flight across Elizabethan England’
‘An enthralling read from beginning to end’

Publisher Review

'An excellent novel - riotous and abundant, full of vivid, dirty life' * The Guardian * 'Rich and evocating; the kind of story you get lost in' * The Independent * Dramatic and gripping, The Ghost Theatre pulled me on a breathless journey of hope, beauty, wonder, tragedy, and the power of theatre. * Isabelle Schuler * A wild, vivid, eerie flight of imagination about the stories we live, and those we tell others. Utterly transporting. * Catriona Ward * I was utterly immersed in the world of Shay and Nonesuch, swept into the ordure and shine of Elizabethan London, felt the mad rush of performance and the darkness after it has passed. The last third, with its reversal and manic dash had me furiously turning pages, the events of Saturnalia as big as the city itself. It is vivid, heady and brilliantly staged. * Stuart Evers * Stunning! I devoured The Ghost Theatre and when I finished I couldn't stop thinking about it; all I wanted was to be back in that world. Beautifully written; rich and evocative with shades of Angela Carter. * Ever Dundas * A story of rebellion and magic, of mysticism and broken love in the streets and theatres and rooftops of Elizabethan London. Beautifully written, delicate and sad. I'm still haunted by it. * Mariana Enriquez, author of Our Share of the Night * Mat Osman starts from the insight that the Elizabethan world was so close to being magical that it takes very little to erase that boundary and make those possibilities real. From the first page, Osman brings the underworld of Elizabethan London to life with its child theatres, rioting apprentices and anarchic riverine world, its jumble of squalor and glamour. The line between stagecraft and witchcraft is erased, and now larger-than-life heroes raise child rebellions; pursue exalted, treacherous love affairs; see the future in a flock of birds. As a reimagining of history, The Ghost Theatre has the subversive power of The Quincunx, with an added dash of prophetic magic and fantastical extravagance. Glorious! * Sandra Newman, author of The Heavens * 'The Ghost Theatre finds its way into the hidden corners of Elizabethan London, telling the story of a group of misfit actors. Beautifully written and completely convincing' * Alex Preston, Observer * "Smart, bold, and original, THE GHOST THEATRE brings to life a slantwise Elizabethan London where appearance is everything and nothing you see can be trusted. Every page is alive with the heady, dangerous energy of an opening night, and Shay and Nonesuch are unforgettable. For readers who like their historical fiction with imagination and flair, this book is a must-read." * Allison Epstein, author of A Tip for the Hangman * "The star of the show in The Ghost Theatre is Osman's fanciful rendering of Elizabethan England, sometimes dreamlike, sometimes apocalyptic, depicted with such a wealth of sensory detail that it blurs the line between memory and fantasy." * Dexter Palmer * "Combining breath-taking world-building with vivid characterisation ... An imaginative tour-de-force of theatre, magic, love and betrayal" * Editor's Pick - The Bookseller *