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Book NewsDateline: 9th September, 2007As the summer lull finally gives way to autumn, there is considerable activity in the world of theatre literature. During the summer, two books that we have previously reviewed were published in paperback, while we have also had a sneak preview of a third that ought to take the Christmas market by storm. State of the Nation by Michael Billington to be published by Faber and Faber in November at £20 Michael Billington, The Guardian's theatre critic since 1971, is probably better placed than anyone to write a book about the theatre in England since the Second World War. In State of the Nation, he combines social history with detailed critical analysis not only of the best individual plays written over the last six decades but also of theatrical trends. Billington is probably our best critic at present and his commentary on so many of the great works of this period would be worth the cost of the book alone. By broadly structuring State of the Nation by political administrations, he then adds an extra dimension. For those into lists, we will toss out a challenge. Can you guess Billington's choices as the four finest plays of the first nine years of the Blair administration; and as a tie-breaker, their equivalents in the following year? The answers will have to await publication but might surprise and will provoke debate. For anybody interested in theatre, this will prove an ideal Christmas present, well written and thoughtful with a wicked sense of humour lightening the tone throughout. We will review this book in greater detail as soon as it is published. The Oxford Guide to Plays by Michael Patterson published by Oxford University Press at £11.99 This book was originally reviewed in hardback under the title The Oxford Dictionary of Plays a couple of years ago. It's the kind of reference book that no theatre lover or practitioner should be without, giving brief synopses of over 1000 plays, ancient and modern. Pleasingly, Michael Patterson has a knack of getting to the core of a play in remarkably few words and therefore anybody wanting to know about practically any play of significance will find this book indispensable. Christopher Marlowe -- Poet and Spy by Park Honan published by Oxford University Press at £12.99 Park Honan's biography of Shakespeare's wild contemporary is not only a worthwhile academic work; it is also a rattling good read. The author ensures that all of Marlowe's works are covered in detail but he goes far further, when looking at the playwright's colourful life. If Professor Honan is correct, Christopher Marlowe was not only one of the finest writers of his time but he was also a spy who lived a James Bond style cloak and dagger existence and died for his cause. Each of these books is well worth the investment, and since the latter two are now available in paperback, many more readers will be able to afford them and they will also benefit from the convenience of lighter and more manageable volumes. Philip Fisher
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