Synopses & Reviews
An enthralling new biography of the most exciting and charismatic adventurer in the history of the English-speaking world
Tall, dark, handsome, and damnably proud, Sir Walter Raleigh was one of history's most romantic characters. An explorer, soldier, courtier, pirate, and poet, Raleigh risked his life by trifling with the Virgin Queen's affections. To his enemies--and there were many--he was an arrogant liar and traitor, deserving of every one of his thirteen years in the Tower of London.
Regardless of means, his accomplishments are legion: he founded the first American colony, gave the Irish the potato, and defeated Spain. He was also a brilliant operator in the shark pool of Elizabethan court politics, until he married a court beauty, without Elizabeth's permission, and later challenged her capricious successor, James I.
Raleigh Trevelyan has traveled to each of the principal places where Raleigh adventured--Ireland, the Azores, Roanoke Islands, and the legendary El Dorado (Orinoco)--and uncovered new insights into Raleigh's extraordinary life. New information from the Spanish archives give a freshness and immediacy to this detailed and convincing portrait of one of the most compelling figures of the Elizabethan era.
Review
"The narrative is brisk, the evidence is handled with care and acuity." -
The New York Times Book Review "Splendid." -The Wall Street Journal
"A stirring account of an intriguing character." -The Sunday Times
"Outstanding biography . . . A Book of the Year." -Literary Review
Synopsis
"Engaging and thorough . . . the best modern biography of the man. Why isn't there a great movie about Sir Walter Raleigh? His life had everything." -Los Angeles Times
Tall, dark, handsome, and damnably proud, Sir Walter Raleigh was one of history's most romantic characters. He founded the first American colony, gave the Irish the potato, even trifled with the Virgin Queen's affections. To his enemies, he was an arrogant liar, deserving of every one of his thirteen years in the Tower of London. Regardless of means, Raleigh's accomplishments are unquestionable: he was the epitome of the English Renaissance man.
Raleigh Trevelyan has traveled to each of the principal places where Raleigh adventured-Ireland, the Azores, Roanoke, and the Orinoco-finding new insights into Raleigh's extraordinary life. His research gives a freshness and immediacy to this detailed, convincing portrait of one of the most compelling figures from the Elizabethan era.
About the Author
Raleigh Trevelyan, a descendant of Sir Walter Raleigh, was for many years a distinguished publisher; his previous books include
The Fortress and
Rome 44. During the last two decades he has combed British, Spanish, Italian, and his own family's archives to write this authoritative life.
Sir Walter Raleigh was a
London Sunday Times Book of the Year. Mr. Trevelyan lives in London and Cornwall.