Richard William Church

Edmund Spenser (1552–99) has been described as one of the greatest English poets, and is best known for The Faerie Queene, which he composed in celebration of the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. Published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1879, this biography by R. W. Church (1815–90), Dean of St Paul's, recounts Spenser's life and work, hailing him as a genius who continued the Chaucerian tradition of reflecting the deepest human passions through verse. Beginning with an account of his early life and his time as a Cambridge scholar, Church moves on to explore Spenser's career as secretary to Lord Grey of Wilton, the then Lord Deputy of Ireland. He concludes with a detailed analysis of The Faerie Queene, explaining its significance as a work of moral philosophy, and one that represented a cornerstone of English literary history.