A world apart -- Handwriting on the wall -- The great separation -- The master's books -- Bright college years -- Gold buttons -- Recruitment -- In the liberties -- The conquest of London -- Secret sharers -- Hog Lane -- The counterfeiters -- Strange company -- Dangerous acquaintances -- Wizardry -- The Faustian bargain -- Neptune's smile -- Into the light -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index

The story of how Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare's greatest rival, leveraged his classical education to ignite an explosion of English literature, nourished the literary talent of Shakespeare and challenged societal norms with his transgressive genius