The Story of the Jonson-Spenser Duel
When Playwrights Fought with Swords (1598)By Ricky Recon
Length31m
About this audiobook
September 22nd, 1598. Hoxton Fields, London.
The evening mist was beginning to rise from the Thames as Ben Jonson faced Gabriel Spenser in a patch of scrubland just north of London's theater district. Both men held drawn rapiers—the elegant, deadly swords that had become the weapon of choice for gentlemen settling their differences. Both had spent their professional lives bringing fictional violence to life on stage, but this evening's performance would have no curtain call.
Jonson was twenty-six, built like a brick mason (which he had been, briefly, before discovering he had a talent for putting words together in ways that made people laugh, cry, and occasionally riot). He had a playwright's eye for drama and a bricklayer's understanding of what it meant to fight for your living. This wasn't his first time with a sword in his hand, and everyone present knew it wouldn't be his last—assuming he survived the next few minutes...
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★★ 5.0 (1)
GenreTrue Crime, Action and Adventure
Length31 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateFeb 16, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Series
More from Ricky Recon
How to Escape from PrisonPaul Wood10h 29m$29 · $0.00
A Thousand Miles From Care: A hunt for a brother's killer - a new compelling Australian true crime story about murder & corruption, WINNER of the Ned Kelly Awards Best True Crime 2025Steve Johnson10h 14m$29 · $0.00
Killer TriggersJoe Kenda8h 31m$20 · $0.00
BoundlessNick Kostov, Sean McLain9h 17m$29 · $0.00
Nine LivesAimen Dean15h 23m$23
Deadly ForceLawrence O'Donnell17h 18m$40 · $0.00
Walking the BowlChris Lockhart, Daniel Mulilo Chama9h 7m$29 · $0.00
Trial by FireScott James13h 31m$23
PapillonHenri Charriere18h 19m$40 · $0.00
The SuspectKent Alexander, Kevin Salwen14h 12m$23 · $0.00
The Cause of DeathCynric Temple-Camp8h 59m$29 · $0.00
Riding with EvilKen Croke, Dave Wedge9h 42m$29 · $0.00
Raven 23Gina Keating8h 16m$26 · $0.00
The Two FBIsNicole Parker10h 8m$29 · $0.00
I Catch KillersGary Jubelin15h 32m$33 · $0.00
The Redemption Of Bobby LoveBobby Love, Cheryl Love9h 13m$29 · $0.00
The Life We ChoseMatt Birkbeck8h 57m$29 · $0.00
The Truth About AaronJonathan Hernandez5h 15m$24 · $0.00
No Ordinary BirdArtis Henderson6h 23m$24 · $0.00
I'll Be Gone in the DarkMichelle McNamara10h 7m$29 · $0.00
EmberJeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews13h 58m$23
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m$28 · $0.00
Forgotten SeasonDonald L. Robertson10h$20
CollateralBrian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson13h 8m$23
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m$33 · $0.00
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m5 (1)$29 · $0.00
The Newly Witch GameRobyn Peterman4h 39m$15
Louis L’Amour’s Trio of TalesLouis L’Amour2h 8m$10
Northern ShadowsDaniel Greene12h 52m$23
The Count of Monte Cristo + The Three Musketeers + The Man in the Iron Mask (3 Unabridged Classics)Alexandre Dumas100h 13m$2 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m$18 · $0.00
Sons of War Series Box SetNicholas Sansbury Smith49h 30m$40
Can’t Ride Around ItAnn Charles, Sam Lucky10h 13m$25
Punk’s FightWard Carroll10h 28m$20
The Labyrinth of the SpiritsCarlos Ruiz Zafon27h 55m$53 · $0.00
Once an EagleAnton Myrer41h 21m$40
Sons of War 4: SoldiersNicholas Sansbury Smith, Tom Abrahams12h 54m$25
With Fire and Sword, The Deluge & Pan MichaelHenryk Sienkiewicz112h 55m$1 · $0.00
The Road to Gundagai (The Matilda Saga, #3)Jackie French12h 31m$33 · $0.00
The Ultimate H. Rider Haggard CollectionHenry Rider Haggard599h 19m$2 · $0.00
You may also like
Dinner Real and ReputedThomas de Quincey1h 25m$2 · $0.00
The Cradle of Mankind; Life in Eastern KurdistanEdgar Thomas Ainger Wigram, W. A. Wigram12h 20m$1 · $0.00
The Mexican-American War (Vol. 1&2)Justin H. Smith55h 45m$3 · $0.00
The Franco-German War of 1870-71Graf von Helmuth Moltke14h 39m$2 · $0.00
History of "Billy the Kid"Charles A. Sirigo2h 5m$2.30
The Last KingdomBernard Cornwell5h 27m$24 · $0.00
Turkey: Towards a Eurasian Shift?Valeria Talbot3h 39m$11
State of the Union AddressesThomas Jefferson2h 23m$2 · $0.00
Changing ChinaWilliam Gascoyne-Cecil, Florence Mary Lady Cecil8h 19m$2 · $0.00
The Land Of Gold Three Years in CaliforniaWalter Colton12h 15m$2.30
The Auxilia of the Roman Imperial ArmyGeorge Leonard Cheesman3h 22m$2 · $0.00
PugilisticaHenry Downes Miles29h 47m$2 · $0.00
Billy the KidRyan C. Coleman11h 39m$20
The U.S.-Mexican War (Vol. 1&2)Justin H. Smith55h 44m$2 · $0.00
Lords of the NorthBernard Cornwell5h 46m$24 · $0.00
The History of Duelling (Vol.1&2)J. G. Millingen20h 11m$1 · $0.00
Memoirs of Major Alexander Ramkins (1718)Daniel Defoe4h 18m$2 · $0.00
The English LanguageLogan Pearsall Smith5h 6m$2 · $0.00
Lords of the NorthBernard Cornwell13h 8m$33 · $0.00
Andrew JacksonWilliam Garrott Brown3h 1m$2 · $0.00