Raleigh

"Raleigh" by Edmund Gosse is a historical account written in the late 19th century. This biographical work chronicles the life of Sir Walter Raleigh, exploring his multifaceted career as a soldier, explorer, and courtier in Elizabethan England. The book aims to portray Raleigh's personal journey distinct from the broader political and historical context of his times. The opening of the book focuses on Raleigh's early life, detailing his birth in 1552 in Hayes Barton, Devonshire, and his ancestry, which includes notable figures such as his half-brother Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Gosse elaborates on Raleigh’s formative years, including his uncertain education at Oxford, his early military experiences in France, and the influence of his family on his adventurous spirit. The narrative sets the stage for Raleigh's later exploits as a prominent explorer and courtier, hinting at the ambition and complexity that would characterize his career and interactions with key historical figures of his time. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Sir Edmund William Gosse was an English poet, author and critic. He was strictly brought up in a small Protestant sect, the Plymouth Brethren, but broke away sharply from that faith. His account of his childhood in the book Father and Son has been described as the first psychological biography.