Sir Walter Raleigh

Description

"Being a true and vivid account of the life and times of the explorer, soldier, scholar, poet, and courtier-- the controversial hero of the Elizabethan Age."--Cover.

First Sentence

'He hath been as a star at which the world has gazed; but stars may fall . . .'

Excerpt

'He hath been as a star at which the world has gazed; but stars may fall . . .'

Description

"Soldier, scholar, explorer, parliamentarian, reputed atheist, patron of poets and himself a fine poet, Raleigh is the epitome of the English Renaissance man. He was also a brilliant operator in the shark-pool of Elizabethan court politics, for many years flattering a vain and ageing Queen with poetic devotions and dazzling her with his exploits - until, without her permission, he married, and she transferred her affections to younger men." "The story of Raleigh's tempestuous relationship with the 'dear Empress of my heart' is one of the central threads of this book. The other is its sense of place. The author is related to Sir Walter Raleigh and lives in the West Country: his sense of Raleigh's Devon roots, which Raleigh never forgot, is very strong. Trevelyan has also travelled to each of the principal places in which Raleigh adventured - Ireland, where he took part in the ruthless suppression of Catholic rebellion; the Azores, where he pillaged; Roanoke, where he tried to found the first English colony in America; and the Orinoco, in present-day Venezuela, where he searched twice, vainly, for El Dorado. In each of these he has found new insights into Raleigh's life, as he has in the Spanish archives. Together, these give a freshness and immediacy to what is now the most detailed and convincing portrait of one of the most compelling figures in English history."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

Genres

• Biography.

Other Editions

• Sir Walter RaleighAllen Lane2002-01-01
• Sir Walter RaleighH. Holt2004-01-01
• Sir Walter RaleighPaperbackHolt Paperbacks2004-09-09