Reginald Hill: Death’s Jest-Book

REGINALD HILL

DEATH’S JEST-BOOK

Harper

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

1 London Bridge Street,

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2002 by HarperCollins

Copyright © Reginald Hill 2008

Reginald Hill asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Source ISBN: 9780007313204

Ebook Edition © JULY 2015 ISBN: 9780007396351

Version: 2015-06-22

For Julia

who never hassles

thanks

The woodcut illustrations which prefigure each of the novel’s thirteen sections are taken from Hans Holbein the Younger’s Dance of Death

For death is more ‘a jest’ than Life, you see Contempt grows quick from familiarity. I owe this wisdom to Anatomy.

T. L. BEDDOES Lines to B.W. Proctor

… fat men can’t write sonnets

T. L. BEDDOES The Bride’s Tragedy l.ii.

Cover

Title Page REGINALD HILL DEATH’S JEST-BOOK

Copyright Copyright Copyright Dedication Epigraph 1. The Physician 2. The Robber 3. The Knight 4. The Newly-Wed 5. The Cemetery 6. The Ship 7. The Temptation 8. The Queen 9. The Drunkards 10. The Friar 11. The Pedlar 12. The Child 13. Judgment Day Keep Reading About the Author Praise By Reginald Hill About the Publisher Harper An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain in 2002 by HarperCollins Copyright © Reginald Hill 2008 Reginald Hill asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication. Source ISBN: 9780007313204 Ebook Edition © JULY 2015 ISBN: 9780007396351 Version: 2015-06-22

Dedication Dedication Dedication Epigraph 1. The Physician 2. The Robber 3. The Knight 4. The Newly-Wed 5. The Cemetery 6. The Ship 7. The Temptation 8. The Queen 9. The Drunkards 10. The Friar 11. The Pedlar 12. The Child 13. Judgment Day Keep Reading About the Author Praise By Reginald Hill About the Publisher For Julia who never hassles thanks

Epigraph Epigraph Epigraph 1. The Physician 2. The Robber 3. The Knight 4. The Newly-Wed 5. The Cemetery 6. The Ship 7. The Temptation 8. The Queen 9. The Drunkards 10. The Friar 11. The Pedlar 12. The Child 13. Judgment Day Keep Reading About the Author Praise By Reginald Hill About the Publisher For death is more ‘a jest’ than Life, you see Contempt grows quick from familiarity. I owe this wisdom to Anatomy. T. L. BEDDOES Lines to B.W. Proctor … fat men can’t write sonnets T. L. BEDDOES The Bride’s Tragedy l.ii.

1. The Physician 1

2. The Robber 2

3. The Knight

4. The Newly-Wed

5. The Cemetery

6. The Ship

7. The Temptation

8. The Queen

9. The Drunkards

10. The Friar

11. The Pedlar

12. The Child

13. Judgment Day

Keep Reading

About the Author

Praise

By Reginald Hill

About the Publisher