Ros Barber’s Shakespeare authorship novel The Marlowe Papers wins the Desmond Elliott Prize for debut fiction. Judge chair Joanne Harris: “Barber’s novel stood out from the shortlist because it is a unique historical conspiracy story that engages all the senses.” The novel, written entirely in verse from the perspective of poet/dramatist Christopher Marlowe, tells the story of how he faked his tavern death and wrote the works of Shakespeare from exile.
