The Early Spenser, 1554-80

Jean R. Brink

ISBN 10: 1526151782 / ISBN 13: 9781526151780

Published by Manchester University Press, GB, 2020

About this Item

Brink's provocative biography shows that Spenser was not the would-be court poet whom Karl Marx's described as 'Elizabeth's arse-kissing poet'. In this readable and informative account, Spenser is depicted as the protégé of a circle of London clergymen, who expected him to take holy orders. Brink shows that the young Spenser was known to Alexander Nowell, author of Nowell's Catechism and Dean of St. Paul's. Significantly revising the received biography, Brink argues that that it was Harvey alone who orchestrated Familiar Letters (1580). He used this correspondence to further his career and invented the portrait of Spenser as his admiring disciple. Contextualising Spenser's life by comparisons with Shakespeare and Sir Walter Ralegh, Brink shows that Spenser shared with Sir Philip Sidney an allegiance to the early modern chivalric code. His departure for Ireland was a high point, not an exile.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781526151780

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Early Spenser, 1554-80
• Publisher: Manchester University Press, GB
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1526151782
• ISBN 13: 9781526151780
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 299 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Brink’s provocative biography shows that Spenser was not the would-be court poet whom Karl Marx’s described as ‘Elizabeth’s arse-kissing poet’. In this readable and informative account, Spenser is depicted as the protégé of a circle of London clergymen, who expected him to take holy orders. Brink shows that the young Spenser was known to Alexander Nowell, author of Nowell’s Catechism and Dean of St. Paul’s. Significantly revising the received biography, Brink argues that that it was Harvey alone who orchestrated Familiar Letters (1580). He used this correspondence to further his career and invented the portrait of Spenser as his admiring disciple.
Contextualising Spenser’s life by comparisons with Shakespeare and Sir Walter Ralegh, Brink shows that Spenser shared with Sir Philip Sidney an allegiance to the early modern chivalric code. His departure for Ireland was a high point, not an exile.

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About the Author

Jean R. Brink is a Research Scholar at Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University, and the founding director of the Az Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies -- .