Link Copied!
A. L. Rowse Quotes (1903-1997)
Author, King
About A. L. Rowse
Alfred Leslie Rowse CH FBA FRSL FRHistS (4 December 1903 β 3 October 1997) was a British historian and author of books about England's Elizabethan era.
Best A. L. Rowse Quotes
Shortest
Earliest
Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful A. L. Rowse quotes.
βThe most elaborate of these revels were those of Christmas 1594, of which we have a detailed, somewhat tedious account β for what amused the Elizabethans does not much amuse us (Shakespeare and Ben Jonson excepted).β
β... Marlowe's plays had the advantage of being performed by the greatest of Elizabethan actors, then coming to the fore in his youthful prime. Similarly, Marlowe's plays, dominated by one towering character β Tamburlaine, the Guise, Barabas, Faustus β gave Alleyn's large-scale personality the scope it demanded.β
βWithin the church the authorities had increasing difficulties to contend with from the puritans in these middle years of the reign: at their height from 1571 to 1584. The strength of puritanism was that it was the ideology, or if you prefer, the religion, of the forward-looking gentry and middle class.β
βI consoled myself with a rare bout of gossip with the piano-tuner, rather a dear little man, with up-turned, waved mustaches, bright bird-like eyes, a slightly lisping manner of speech, which recalled his great days in London and rubbing shoulders with celebrities. He had been piano-tuner to some well-known pianist β I think Adela Verne β of a previous generation. From him I heard the gossip of county society, and life at Truro, our cathedral city.β
βWe must put these things in the perspective of the age, its ubiquitous cruelty: flogging and beating were frequent, schoolmasters believed in beating learning into their pupils' heads β the exemplary Lady Jane Grey was frequently beaten for her book. For scolds there were branks or gags across the mouth, spiked chastity-belts for unreliable wives, ducking stools for women who made nuisances of themselves.β
βSo we were launched by the Elizabethan seamen upon our long career of adventure across the seas: adventure leading to discovery, discovery to exploration, exploration to colonisation and settlement, and so to Empire. So that you might say the British Empire was a product β almost a by-product β of adventure. It certainly was not planned; it came into being naturally, gradually, as the result of the adventurous spirit, the stout heart and courage of our forefathers looking for a livelihood and an outlet for their energy and spirits across the ocean.β
βThe fact of our being an island has been a great advantage all through our later history. It has given us the benefit of a time-lag, imposed a bulwark between us and the too violent impact of forces from outside. We were given time to work out our own solutions, to absorb the shock of new ideas and movements, to bide our own time and interpose with effect in Europe when the moment was ripe. Since the last war people have got into the habit of underestimating the importance of our insularity; they have been apt to say that the development of air power has annihilated it. Air power has, of course, made an immense difference; but it has not annihilated it. It was our insularity that saved us in 1940.β
β... I suggested that he write for Oldham's Press, which I was advising, a biography of Mountjoy: Elizabethan General. This was a congenial subject, which Cyril made the most of. ...
... Mountjoy's long liaison with Essex's beautiful sister, the wife of Lord Rich, was recognised by society, until Mountjoy married the lady, when social humbug made a scandal of it. All this appealed to Cyril, who had a soldierly gallantry for the fair sex.β
... Mountjoy's long liaison with Essex's beautiful sister, the wife of Lord Rich, was recognised by society, until Mountjoy married the lady, when social humbug made a scandal of it. All this appealed to Cyril, who had a soldierly gallantry for the fair sex.β
βThe truth is that all these men exemplify a triumph of will-power: that is what enabled them to succeed. The strain made some of them harsh β Grenville was harsh, and Bligh of the Bounty. Perhaps Drake too β as certainly he was in his execution of Captain Doughty in South America, before breaking into the Pacific. Still you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs. It is a mistake to be too soft; one can't expect to achieve anything without grit. That they all had.β
A. L. Rowse Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of A. L. Rowse quotes by topic.
A. L. Rowse on Monarchy of the United Kingdom 2 quotes
βThe monarchy has this great advantage, that it provides us with a symbol to which we can all look, whether overseas or at home, the visible embodiment of the unity of our peoples and form of society β a head which is at the same time separate from the centre of real political power.β
What A. L. Rowse Said About Others
Discover personal opinions A. L. Rowse shared regarding contemporaries.
A. L. Rowse on Arthur Bryant 4 quotes
βMr. Bryant has a wonderful tale to tell, he sees the whole picture and has the gift to make us see it.β
A. L. Rowse on Thomas Carlyle 4 quotes
βIf you want one great name in English literature that sums up all that England does not stand for, a bitter spirit, sour, an extravagant, a worshipper of force and of the fΓΌhrerprinzip, it can be said in one name: Carlyle.β
A. L. Rowse on Francis Kilvert 4 quotes
βThe point about Kilvert is that he was the master of a most exquisite and lovely prose, and the Diary that he kept is not merely a revealing document of the social life of the countryside in his time β it is certainly that β but one of the first half-dozen diaries, and that not the least moving, in our literature.β
A. L. Rowse on Ernest Bevin
βChurchill could therefore leave the Home Front, the organisation of the total man-power of the country, of its industrial and war production and supplies, the rationing of food, the financing of it all, to his colleagues. In all this, the most Churchillian figure among Labour leaders, Ernest Bevin, played a part second only to Churchill in winning the war.β
A. L. Rowse on Walter Raleigh
βRalegh was, though not the first, yet the centre of the whole group which carried out the most persistent attack upon the great colonial question β England's share in the opening-up of the New World. Oxford in our time was right to name its first Empire club after Ralegh, for he was the most conscious and determined of the makers of Empire. To have destined North America for the dominion of English-speaking people can hardly be regarded as the work of one whose career was a failure.β
About A. L. Rowse
Alfred Leslie Rowse CH FBA FRSL FRHistS (4 December 1903 β 3 October 1997) was a British historian and author of books about England's Elizabethan era.