A historian, poet and autobiographer, A. L. Rowse (1903-1997) moved through the worlds of academia, politics and publishing; those he encountered upon the way came in for witty and vitriolic diatribes in his journals. On their first publication in 2003 these diaries were already widely anticipated - Rowse himself had suggested in his lifetime that there would be much to scandalise and entertain in them, and they didn't disappoint this prediction. Winston Churchill, G. M. Trevelyan, T. S. Eliot and John Betjeman are among the famous characters who came under his gaze, and whose conversations and opinions of one another he recorded.

Compiled and edited by Richard Ollard, the diaries stretch from the 1920s - when Rowse first left his native Cornwall to study at Cambridge - to the 1960s, a fascinating and personal study of the most turbulent decades in recent history.

Reflections on the Puritan Revolution (1986) examines the damage done by the Puritans during the English Civil War, and the enormous artistic losses England suffered from their activities. The Puritans smashed stained glass, monuments, sculpture, brasses in cathedrals and churches; they destroyed organs, dispersed the choirs and the music. They sold the King's art collections, pictures, statues, plate, gems and jewels abroad, and broke up the Coronation regalia. They closed down the theatres and ended Caroline poetry. The greatest composer and most promising scientist of the age were among the many lives lost; and this all besides the ruin of palaces, castles and mansions.

This book, originally published in 1963, discusses the place of history in education and general culture, methods of teaching and how to tackle reading. It deals with problems that are among the most pressing intellectual issues of the twentieth century as well as being a practical handbook, on how to read history.

First published in 1935, Queen Elizabeth and Her Subjects presents a comprehensive history of the Elizabethan Age. Most of the sketches in the book were with exception of the last, originally delivered as talks for the B.B.C. The main bulk of the book, Chapters II-IX, consists of the series on "Queen Elizabeth's Subjects" delivered in spring of 1934; of which Chapter III, V, VII and IX are by G, B. Harrison and the rest are by A.L. Rowse. It brings topics such as William Cecil and Lord Burghley; women of the Queen's court; Cardinal Allen; three Elizabethan actors: Alleyn, Richard Burbage and Will Kemp and The Elizabethan Age. This book is a must read for students and scholars of British history.

First published in 1987, The Poet Auden is a personal memoir by A.L. Rowse, who knew Auden from the time he was an undergraduate at Oxford and kept some touch with him all his life until his final return to Oxford. From those early days he had no doubt of Auden's genius, and from his own long periods in America he has been able to place the poet's life and work in the double, perhaps twin, perspective of England and the United States. How far did this dichotomy enrich or disadvantage Auden's work? There are two opinions on this open, much discussed, question. Rowse makes a new contribution to the discussion. There are well known difficulties in both Auden's life and writing, Rowse views these with sympathy and understanding close to the man and seeks to place his work in the perspective of the age in which Auden was a symptomatic and representative figure, along with his idiomatic originality.This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of English literature and poetry.

First published in 1927, On History offers an overview of the ternds in historical thought in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Rowse starts with an analogy between historical and political thought and discusses the style and method of history writing. He argues that the chief value of the conception of history is in that it provides a principle proper to the age for its summary of the past and in the light of which we may survey the whole of the social process and not only the surface with occasional excursion into the depths. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of history.

Sir Richard Grenville (1542-1591), English sea captain and explorer, became a legendary figure in the resistance to the Spanish Armada, dying as a result of wounds sustained at the helm of the galleon "Revenge" in the Battle of Flores: a fight in which he struggled against overwhelming odds.

First published in 1937, "Sir Richard Grenville of the Revenge" was A.L. Rowse's first full-length historical monograph.

'There is no doubt that Mr Rowse's book will establish itself as the standard biography of Grenville, and he deserves our unstinting thanks for the patient research that he has put into it.' J.E. Neale, "Sunday Times"

'Magnificent... I was delighted, too, by the masterful descriptions of the Elizabethan era and the brilliant figures of that age.' Lloyd George, in a letter to A.L. Rowse

This book, originally published in 1963, discusses the place of history in education and general culture, methods of teaching and how to tackle reading. It deals with problems that are among the most pressing intellectual issues of the twentieth century as well as being a practical handbook, on how to read history.

Back in print in a new paperback edition are these two volumes by A.L. Rowse that represent one of the great historical works of our time. They are a master historian's exploration of the social and cultural history of the Elizabethan Age. In The Life of the Society, Mr. Rowse surveys the life of each class of Englishmen from the Court downward, and presents a remarkable portrait of Elizabethan life and of the mentality, conscious and unconscious, to which the way of life gave rise. He portrays the life of the body as well as the life of the mind, including food and sanitation, sports and clothing, customs and beliefs, witchcraft and astrology even the sex life of Elizabethans. In The Cultural Achievement he chronicles the astonishingly rich cultural flowering that marked the reign of Elizabeth I. He brings vividly to life the age's poetry, music, science, painting, sculpture, minor arts, and, above all, the tightly knit world of the theatre. Abundantly illustrated, together these volumes offer a richly rewarding reading experience. "The book is so tightly packed with fascinating facts and fresh material that anyone at all seriously interested in Elizabethan England should delight in it." New York Times. "The Elizabethan Renaissance is created in such brilliant color and clarity that the reader can never forget it." Irving Stone."

Thomas Roe, born near London in 1580 or 1581 was a notable and influential figure in the England of Elizabeth and of the early Stuarts. In his wide-ranging career, he came into contact with an array of famous seventeenth-century persons ranging from Sir Walter Raleigh to Archbishop William Laud and from Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia to the Great Mogul Emperor of Hindustan. Roe was one of the most capable diplomats of his time and his career was associated with developments of great importance: colonial and commercial expansion, the beginnings of empire, foreign relations, religious movements, domestic dissent. This sparkling, first full biography of Sir Thomas Roe delineates the unusual range of the ambassador's experiences and the importance of his career against the complex background of that spirited age. Dedicated to the view that England should be actively involved in Europe, Roe worked tirelessly toward the attainment of that goal.