A. L. Rowse
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A. L. Rowse CH FRSL FBA FRHistS |
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| Born | Alfred Leslie Rowse 4 December 1903 Tregonissey, St Austell, Cornwall |
| Died | 3 October 1997 (aged 93) Cornwall, UK |
| Occupation | Poet, academic and Elizabethan historian |
| Notable awards |
Companion of Honour Fellow of the British Academy Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature Fellow of the Royal Historical Society |
Alfred Leslie Rowse CH FRSL FBA FRHistS (4 December 1903 – 3 October 1997), known publicly as A. L. Rowse but to friends and family as Leslie, was a British author and historian from Cornwall, England, UK.
Rowse is best known for his work on Elizabethan England and his poetry about Cornwall. He was also a Shakespearean scholar and biographer.
Rowse was born at Tregonissey, near St Austell, Cornwall, the son of Richard Rowse, a china clay worker, and Annie (née Vanson). Despite his parents being poor and semi-illiterate, he won a place at St Austell County Grammar School (now Poltair School – which has named part of its curriculum the Rowse Pathway) and then a scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford in 1921. He was encouraged in his pursuit of an academic career by a fellow Cornish man of letters, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, of Polperro, who recognised his ability from an early age. Rowse endured doubting comments about his paternity, thus he paid particular attention to his mother's association with a local farmer and butcher from Polgooth, near St Austell, Frederick William May (1872–1953). Nonetheless any such frustrations were channelled into academia, which reaped him dividends later in life.
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