Description
By: Thomas Lodge
“Rosalynde or, Euphues’ Golden Legacie” by Thomas Lodge is a charming and delightful story that transports readers to the world of love, adventure, and courtly intrigue. The protagonist, Rosalynde, is a strong and independent woman who navigates the challenges of her time with grace and resilience.
Lodge’s writing is beautifully crafted, with vivid descriptions and poetic language that brings the Elizabethan era to life. The characters are well-developed and engaging, each with their own distinct personality and motivations.
The plot is filled with twists and turns, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as they follow Rosalynde on her journey of self-discovery and romance. The themes of love, loyalty, and honor are woven throughout the story, adding depth and complexity to the narrative.
Overall, “Rosalynde” is a captivating tale that will appeal to fans of classic literature and historical fiction. It is a timeless story of love and adventure that will stay with readers long after they have finished the book.
Book Description:
This novel, which Shakespeare adapted in his pastoral comedy As You Like It, is the archetypal pastoral adventure. Two young persons of high birth, who have recently lost their fathers (one to death, one to banishment), fall in love but are separated almost at once and forced to flee to the Forest of Arden. There they meet again, but as Rosalynde is disguised for safety as a boy, named Ganymede, her lover Rosader does not recognize her. Once Rosader has confided his love to Ganymede, they play a game in which the “boy” poses as Rosalynde to give Rosader practice in wooing. As the comic episodes, replete with dramatic irony, accumulate, minor characters with complementary romantic relationships fill in the spectrum of the sublime ludicrousness of sexual love until the shadow of death (which is not excluded from Arcadia!) brings matters to a happy conclusion. The various sets of lovers are appropriately joined, and once the corrupt seats of authority back home have been either purged or reformed, Rosalynde’s banished father the Duke and the high-born lovers return to civilization, bringing with them a better understanding of what really matters in life.
