Sir Walter Ralegh: The Renaissance Man and His Roles

Explorer, soldier, statesman, writer, key to the English Renaissance—Sir Walter Ralegh fashioned his life as a work of art.

Exposing the tensions and contradictions of Renaissance England, Stephen Greenblatt presents Sir Walter Ralegh as a symbol of his age. The interplay between life and art animated both his actions and his writing, and his dramatic life was his masterpiece. From the grim Tower of London to the swamps of Guiana, from the aging Queen Elizabeth’s court back to the Tower, Ral...