Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

Robert Dudley (1532?-1588), Earl of Leicester and Queen Elizabeth's long-time favorite, was the subject of scandal from the very beginnings of the Elizabethan era in England (1558-1603). Study of the legends surrounding his life, times, and putative crimes provides insights into the political, social, religious, and administrative history of Britain and lots and lots of fun . . . sometimes, furtive and ribald fun.

Mr Peck spent many pleasant hours pursuing these matters and writing up his results, quite a few years ago, and more recently, scanning them and posting them all here. At least all of them that can still be found under piles of NYRBs and behind the sofa cushions.

Leicester's Commonwealth: the Copy of a Letter Written by a Master of Art of Cambridge (1584) and Related Documents. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1985 [reprinted here].

"The Letter of Estate: an Elizabethan Libel," Notes and Queries, n.s. 28 (February 1981), 21-35 [reprinted here].

"The Earl of Leicester and the Riot at Drayton Basset, 1578," Notes and Queries, n.s. 27 (April 1980), 131-35 [reprinted here].

"Raleigh, Sidney, and the Catholics, 1579," Notes and Queries, n.s. 25 (October 1978), 427-31 [reprinted here].

"News from Heaven and Hell: a Defamatory Narrative of the Earl of Leicester," English Literary Renaissance (Spring 1978), 141-58 [reprinted here].

"Government Suppression of Elizabethan Catholic Books," Library Quarterly, 47 (April 1977), 163-77 [reprinted here].

"Another Version of the Leicester Epitaphium," Notes and Queries, n.s. 23 (May 1976), 227-28 [reprinted here].

"An Alleged Early Draft of 'Leicester's Commonwealth'," Notes and Queries, n.s. 22 (July 1975), 295-96.