Colorful and exciting, Sir Walter Ralegh became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. This world-famous explorer conceived and organized the colonizing expeditions to America; introduced potatoes and tobacco to England, and ended up in the Tower, following his secret wedding to Bess Throckmorton where he was executed. Along with his more well-known exploits, this insightful study--the first based on an accurate chronology of Ralegh's own writings--offers startling disclosures about his other love affairs, an illegitimate child, and a failed suicide attempt.