This book uses both sound research and imaginative intelligence to reconstruct the life of the writer Thomas Nashe, active in London throughout the 1590s.

Nashe was a friend of Marlowe and probably knew Shakespeare, he made an important contribution to the development of English prose and the novel, and at a time when government controls on publishing were strict he attempted to comment on abuses of power and political affairs in general. Too often, because of his notorious feud in print with Dr. Gabriel Harvey, he is dismissed as an amusing but lightweight pamphleteer. Reading 'A Cup of News' will correct any such impression. It shows Nashe as an eager participant in the growing intellectual and literary life of the nation at a time when English culture was at its most interesting and creative.

No-one who has read Nashe or takes any interest in the late Elizabethan period can fail to enjoy this book.

This book, for fans of Thomas Nashe or of 1600th century English literature, is a well-written description of Thomas Nashe and his mere greatness. I advise for any such mind who so dearly holds Nashe to their hearts as I, that this book will only spark within you a new sense of awe for both Nashe and Crewe (the author). --Daniel S. Batten Londonderry, NH