From one of the original leading ladies of historical fiction, this reissued classic captures the life of sir Walter Raleigha man of extraordinary ambition whose complex relationship with Elizabeth I followed him around the globe. Beloved historical novelist Norah Lofts was the queen of royal tales for generations. Lofts books are back, and in Here Was a Man, one of the greatest adventurers of the sixteenth century vividly and romantically comes to life. When young Walter Raleigh first presented himself before Elizabeth I, he dreamt of carving out an empire in the New World to lay at her feet. But Elizabeth is equally determined to keep this handsome, witty young man at her side. Through years of frustration, violent quarrels, reconciliation, and the challenges and rewards of exploration, Raleigh desperately tries to hold on to his dream. Lofts peoples her rich tale with some of the greatest personalities of the age, including Shakespeare, Marlowe, Sir Phillip Sydney, and Sir Francis Drake, painting a detailed portrait of the Elizabethan era in all its colorful, contentious glory. Sweeping readers from the courts of Europe to the jungles of South America, Here Was a Man offers history lovers a feast that only Norah Lofts could deliver.
In one of her earliest works, beloved author Norah Lofts brings us her riveting and romantic account of Sir Walter Raleigh and the court of Elizabeth I. Raleigh knew from the time he was a boy that his life would be exceptional. He dreams of someday exploring the New World he's heard about in snippets of sailors' stories on the docks of the fishing villages where he was raised; and his good fortune leads him to rise in the court of Elizabeth I, becoming a most trusted friend and advisor to the power players of the day.
Raleigh's wit, ambition, and adventurous spirit endear him to all, including the queen herself, but Elizabeth's favor proves as much hindrance as help, as Raleigh still has but one goal in mind -- to take to the seas and secure his place as one of the great explorers of the age. The queen will not allow her young knight to be taken from her side, repeatedly refusing his requests for expeditions, until she at last reluctantly grants him permission to conquer in her name. Meanwhile, between journeys, his passion is stirred, not by the queen but by her lady-in-waiting Lisbeth. His loyalties are split between the boundless opportunities the queen can bestow and the pull of his own heart.
With cameo appearances by Shakespeare, Marlowe, Sydney, and other luminaries of the day, Lofts once again paints a colorful, nuanced, and moving portrait of the Elizabethan Age. Here Was a Man is another timeless classic from the legendary Norah Lofts.
