From one of the original leading ladies of historical fiction, this reissue of her classic first novel captures the life of Sir Walter Raleigh-a man of extraordinary ambition who dreamt of carving out an empire in the New World to lay at the feet of Elizabeth I.

But the Queen was equally determined to keep this handsome, witty young man at her side. Through years of frustration, violent quarrels, reconciliation and the challenges and rewards of exploration, Raleigh desperately tried to hold on to his dream. This rich tale is peppered with many of the greatest personalities of the age, including Shakespeare, Marlowe, Sir Phillip Sydney and Sir Francis Drake, painting a detailed portrait of the Elizabethan era in all its colourful, contentious glory. Sweeping readers from the courts of Europe to the jungles of South America, Here Was a Man offers history lovers a feast that only Norah Lofts could deliver.