Drama Duel: Benjamin Jonson vs. Gabriel Spencer | Horrorwood: True Crime in Tinseltown

Welcome to the life of Benjamin Jonson—widely regarded as the second-best playwright of the Elizabethan era and ALWAYS in competition with Shakespeare. Before rising to literary fame, Jonson was part of the Admiral’s Men acting troupe in London, where he found himself caught in deadly dramas on and offstage. In 1598, he killed actor Gabriel Spencer in a duel—an encounter that turned fatal with a man already known for his violent streak.

Episode Sources:

“The Revels Plays: The Alchemist” by Ben Jonson, edited by F.H. Mares, Manchester University Press, copyright F.H. Mares 1967, published by Methuen & Co., pg. xvii - xxvii, accessed through Google Books May 2, 2025

“Ben Johnson A Life” by Ian Donaldson, Published by Oxford University Press, copyright Ian Doanldson 2011, accessed through Google Books May 2, 2025

“A History of London’s Prisons” by Geoffrey Howse, published by Grub Street Publishers, accessed via Google Books on May 2, 2025

“Middlesex County Records” from Middlesex County Record Society, accessed through Google Books on May 2, 2025

“Playwright Ben Jonson Duels to the Death” by Mathew Lyons, Volume 73, Issue 9, September 9, 2023, History Today

“Elizabethan playwright Ben Jonson once beat a murder charge by translating some Latin” by Olivia Rutigliano, February 21, 2020, Lit Hub

“Ben Jonson’s Murder Charge” by Mike Paterson, November 21, 2018, London Historians’ Blog

“Isle of Dogs, The” from Lost Plays Database

“Psalm 51, New International Version” from BibleGateway

“Category: Gabriel Spencer” from Lost Plays Database

“Gabriel Spencer” from Find A Grave