Sir Walter Ralegh's life is romantic, irresistible, and of central
importance to our island story. His death is a convoluted and contested
tale of bargaining, failure and betrayal. Through the Elizabethan golden
age and Ralegh's famous adventures to the final act, Anna Beer presents
his stranger-than-fiction life in all its richness.
How could a man once the Queen's favorite find himself consigned to the
Tower by her successor? Should his legacy be fame or infamy? Who was the
real Sir Walter Ralegh?