“I was born a Goose of Southwark by the Grace of Mary Overie,Whose Bishop gives me licence to sin within The Liberty.In Bankside stews and taverns you can hear me honk right daintily,As I unlock the hidden door, unveil the Secret History.” The Liberty of the Clink dates back to 1107 when the Bishop of Winchester was granted a stretch of the Southwark Bankside, which lay outside the law of the City of London. Here, the Bishop controlled the brothels, or stews. The whores of The Liberty were known as Winchester Geese. The Vision Books of The Southwark Mysteries were first revealed by The Goose to John Crow, trickster-familiar of the poet and playwright John Constable, on 23rd November 1996. In these apocalyptic verses, John Crow encounters The Goose at Crossbones, the whores’ graveyard unearthed during work on the Jubilee Line Extension. She initiates him into a secret history spanning 2,000 years – a vision of the Spirit in the flesh, the Sacred in the profane, Eternity in time. This vision informs The Mystery Plays, a contemporary “Southwark Cycle” rooted in the medieval mysteries, retelling sacred stories in the earthy language and context of our own time and place. This epic drama was first performed in Shakespeare’s Globe and Southwark Cathedral on Easter Sunday, 23rd April 2000. A new production was presented in Southwark Cathedral in 2010. The third part of the work is a Glossolalia of local history and esoteric lore to be read in conjunction with the poems and plays.

On the south bank of the Thames, outside the jurisdiction of the ancient City of London, Bankside has long been known as a hotbed of creativity, dissent and loose living. With its brothels and bear-pits, its prisons and its pubs, the area has inspired the nation's greatest writers - Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens, Keats and Blake - and been home to its most famous theatres - the Globe, The Rose, The Old Vic and the National. These same south London streets have given sanctuary to immigrants and refugees, to tradesmen, craftsmen and Thames Watermen, to the workhouse poor and the criminal underclass. Writer, performer and local historian John Constable is well known for his walks around this fascinating area. The eight walks collected here are among his most popular. Packed with social history and local lore, they are witty, insightful and hugely entertaining. Each walk is easy to follow, accompanied by maps and clear directions, and illustrated with period prints and contemporary photographs. Together, they tell the extraordinary and, until recently, largely forgotten story of London's anarchic, irrepressible 'Outlaw Borough'.

A set of horrific killings hints at the answer behind a legendary crime... Autumn, 1380. Brother Athelstan is very busy. He and his parish council are preparing for the annual Christmas mystery play when a series of brutal murders occur at a Southwark tavern. Two young whores are found slain but their deaths are only the beginning of a series of gruesome killings which occur around the parish of St Erconwald’s. He resolves to solve not only these grisly deaths, but also their source - the Great Robbery of the Lombard treasure, which occurred in Southwark some 20 years earlier. Plots and deceptions abound in this thrilling mystery novel by Paul Doherty, ideal for fans of Susanna Gregory, C. J. Sansom and S. J. Parris. Praise for Paul Doherty 'His fascination for history comes off the page' Daily Express 'Paul Doherty has a lively sense of history ... evocative and lyrical descriptions' New Statesmen 'An opulent banquet to satisfy the most murderous appetite' Northern Echo

Secrets prove deadly in this new novel from Tasha Alexander featuring Lady Emily Hargreaves. Some very prominent people in London are waking up to find their doorsteps smeared with red paint, the precursor to the revelation of a dark secret – and worse – by someone who enjoys destroying lives Newly returned to her home in Mayfair, Lady Emily Hargreaves is looking forward to enjoying the delights of the season. The delights, that is, as defined by her own eccentricities—reading The Aeneid, waltzing with her dashing husband, and joining the Women's Liberal Federation in the early stages of its campaign to win the vote for women. But an audacious vandal disturbs the peace in the capital city, splashing red paint on the neat edifices of the homes of London's elite. This mark, impossible to hide, presages the revelation of scandalous secrets, driving the hapless victims into disgrace, despair and even death. Soon, all of London high society is living in fear of learning who will be the next target, and Lady Emily and her husband, Colin, favorite agent of the crown, must uncover the identity and reveal the motives of the twisted mind behind it all before another innocent life is lost.

All the depravity and evil of man is found upon the stage. January, 1381. Guests of the Regent, John of Gaunt, Brother Athelstan and Sir John Cranston have been attending a mystery play performed by the Straw Men, Gaunt's personal acting troupe. The evening’s entertainment, however, is suddenly and brutally interrupted by the violent deaths of two of Gaunt's guests, their severed heads left on stage. The Regent orders Athelstan to find out who committed such a heinous act, leading him to tackle his most baffling and disturbing case yet... A taut and clever medieval murder mystery that won’t let go, perfect for fans of S G MacLean, S W Perry and Rory Clements.

Can he crack the code before the Great Revolt begins? May, 1381. As the Great Revolt draws ever nearer, rebels openly roam the streets of London, waiting for the violence to begin. Their mysterious envoy, the Herald of Hell, appears at night all over the city, striking terror into the hearts of those who oppose them. But who is he? When his chancery clerk is found hanged in a notorious Southwark brothel, the ruthless Thibault, John of Gaunt’s Master of Secrets, summons Brother Athelstan to investigate. Did Amaury Whitfield really kill himself following a visit from the terrifying Herald of Hell? Athelstan is unconvinced. In the dead man’s possession was a manuscript containing a great secret which he had been striving to decipher. If he could only unlock the cipher and interpret the messages being carried to the so-called Herald of Hell, Athelstan would be one step closer to catching the killer. But time is running out... An utterly enthralling medieval mystery, perfect for fans of D. V. Bishop, D. L. Valentine and Antonia Hodgson.

Fledgling playwright Will Shakespeare and Symington Smythe, ostler and would-be thespian, and are now firmly ensconced in their theater company . . . But due to the plague, all of London's theaters have been closed, its players now broke, forcing our intrepid duo to seek employment in other lines of work--Smythe smithing and Will poeting. Then a murder rocks all of London. Shakespeare and Smythe decide to solve the crime, but they must rely on their wits to survive both the conspiriacies and the cutthroat business of Elizabethan theater