book cover of The Ghost Theatre
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The Ghost Theatre

(2023)
A novel by

 
 
** NOW WITH BONUS MATERIAL EXCLUSIVE TO THIS EDITION **

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

'Fiction that's larger than life and twice as much fun' Guardian

'Rich and evocating; the kind of story you get lost in' Independent

'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


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'



Genre: Historical

Praise for this book

"A story of rebellion and magic, of mysticism and broken love in the streets and theatre and rooftops of Elizabethan London. Beautifully written, delicate, and sad. I'm still haunted by it." - Mariana Enríquez

"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

"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

"Deliciously immersive, wildly imaginative, and not to be missed--Mat Osman is a true Renaissance man." - M L Rio


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