"Murdering Ministers" integrates everything worth knowing about Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" from four centuries of criticism and performances, stage as well as film, in a scene-by-scene close reading that provides the reader with an exhaustive knowledge of the play and answers questions that have captivated us for centuries. Did Burbage, the first Macbeth, enter on horseback? When does the idea of regicide first occur to the Macbeths? Why does Macbeth withhold part of the witches’ prophecy from his wife? Is Banquo honest? Did Shakespeare believe in witchcraft? Why is the play cursed? What has happened to the baby that Lady Macbeth has given suck? Answers to this and much more come from actors, critics, and directors of countless productions since 1606. Moreover, "Murdering Ministers" is an expedition into the historical context of "Macbeth": the politico-religious turmoil of Jacobean England. It is hardly a coincidence that Shakespeare’s play of regicide and witchcraft followed hard upon an assassination attempt on James I, author of a manual on black magic and how to detect it – but did the playwright mean to praise or to provoke his king with the Scottish Play? Finally, the book questions the tradition of the play as an exclusively sombre tragedy with all humour confined to the brief appearance of the porter in Act II. Macbeth is, in fact, full of hilarious dramatic irony rarely explored or exploited since the early 19th century. Although it may be a stretch to call it a comedy, there is plenty to laugh at. It wouldn’t be Shakespeare otherwise.

"Filled with clever repartee, memorable characters, and an ending as satisfying as it is unexpected."—Booklist What holy terror spiked the sacraments with strychnine? When a teenage girl disappears from a north London suburb a few days before Christmas, Detective Sergeant Effie Strongitharm puts would-be cult leader and reputed exorcist Nigel Tapster on her list of people to be questioned. But when Effie witnesses Tapster's agonizing death during a church service, she needs to ask a different question: What holy terror spiked the sacraments with strychnine? With her mentor Detective Superintendent Mallard battling forced retirement, Effie turns to children's book writer Oliver Swithin to help her in a double quest—to bring the girl home and the murderer to justice in time for Christmas. But is there a connection between the cases? And what does any of this have to do with a Scotland Yard Commissioner's personal hygiene, a six-year-old Hell's Angel, a guide to beastly behavior featuring Finsbury the Ferret, a touch of Shakespeare, and the return of the mysterious, virtually invisible Underwood Tooth?