Alfred Leslie Rowse, A Cornish Childhood

Lolly Ockerstrom (Park University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1942

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Autobiography (literary)

Resources

First published in 1942, A.L. Rowse’s autobiography, A Cornish Childhood sold over a quarter of a million copies by 1989. Elected a Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford University at the age of twenty-one, Rowse wrote over one hundred scholarly books on Elizabethan England, but it was his autobiography that appealed to common readers and scholars alike, and which made him wealthy. It remains popular today, particularly among those with interests in Cornish history as well as autobiographical studies. Although the text provides a glimpse into the life of an irascible man who became the first Cornishman to take an Oxford scholarship, the real charm of the autobiography lies in the author’s portrayal of community life in the …

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3132 words

Citation: Ockerstrom, Lolly. "A Cornish Childhood". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 July 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=29622, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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