Author: Edmund Spenser
Born in 1552, Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Taylor's School and went to Cambridge and matriculated as a sizar at Pembroke Hall. He took his Bachelor's degree in 1573 and his Master's in 1576. By 1578 he was serving as secretary to Bishop John Young, in Kent. Employed by the Earl of Leicester the following year, Spenser enlisted in supporting the cause of the Leicester faction in matters of religion and politics. The following year he began work on The Faerie Queene and entered the employ of Lord Grey of Wilton, Lord Deputy of Ireland. In 1581 Spenser was appointed Clerk in Chancery for Faculties. The year 1589 saw Spenser's return to London, partly to oversee the publication of the first three books of The Faerie Queene. After two years Spenser returned to Ireland. An edition of The Faerie Queene, Books I-VI, appeared in 1596. A general uprising of the Irish forced Spenser to flee to London in 1598, where he brought correspondence from Sir Thomas Norris to the Privy Council. A few weeks later, he died on January 13th, 1599 in Westminster and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
