This collection of essays by scholars from Great Britain, the United
States, Canada and Taiwan covers a wide range of topics about Ralegh's
diversified career and achievements. Some of the essays shed light on
less familiar facets such as Ralegh as a father and as he is represented
in paintings, statues, and in movies; others re-examine him as poet,
historian, as a controversial figure in Ireland during Elizabeth's
reign, and look at his complex relationship with and patronage of Edmund
Spenser. A recurrent topic is the Hatfield Manuscript in Ralegh's
handwriting, which contains his long, unfinished poem 'The Ocean to
Cynthia', usually considered a lament about his rejection by Queen
Elizabeth after she learned of his secret marriage to one of her
ladies-in-waiting.
The book is appropriate for students of Elizabethan-Jacobean history and
literature.
Among the contributors are well-known scholars of Ralegh and his era,
including James Nohrenberg, Anna Beer, Thomas Herron, Alden Vaughan and
Andrew Hiscock.