While Christopher Marlowe's literary career lasted less than six years and his life only 29 years, his successes, particularly the play The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus, ensured his lasting legacy. Early years Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury around 26 February 1564 (this was the day he was baptised). He attended King's School and was awarded a scholarship that allowed him to study at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, from the late 1580s to 1587. Marlowe received his bachelor's degree in literature in 1584, but in 1587 the university hesitated to grant him his master's degree. . His doubts (perhaps arising from his frequent absences, or from speculation that he had converted to Roman Catholicism and would soon attend college elsewhere) were dispelled, or at least dismissed, when the Privy Council sent a letter declaring that he was now working "on matters affecting the benefit of his country", and was awarded his master's degree on schedule. Was Marlowe a secret agent? The nature of Marlowe's service in England was not specified by the council, but the letter sent to Cambridge provoked abundant speculation, particularly the theory that Marlowe had become a secret agent working for Sir Francis Walsingham's secret service. No direct evidence supports this theory, but the council letter clearly suggests that Marlowe was serving the government in some secret capacity. Surviving Cambridge documents from the period show that Marlowe had several long absences from the university, much longer than the school's regulations allowed. And extant accounts of the dining hall indicate that while there he spent lavishly on food and drink, larger amounts than he could have afforded on his known scholarship income. Both could indicate a secondary source of income, such as secret government work. But with little hard evidence and rampant speculation, mystery surrounds