So Idle a Rogue: The Life and Death of Lord Rochester

By Jeremy Lamb

One of the brightest and most outrageous luminaries at the court of Charles II, he was to drink himself to death by the age of 33. Famous for the obscenity of his amorous poems, he may also penned... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0749002913
• ISBN13: 9780749002916
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Allison & Busby, Limited
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 5.8" x 0.8"

Customer Reviews

This one feels like the author really knew the person

This is an excellent biography of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, the character Johnny Depp plays in "The Libertine." I've read several books about Wilmot in the past two years, and I have enjoyed this more, gotten more out of it, and feel I have finally gotten a handle on the man who was so brilliant and so tragic. The author, Jeremy Lamb, didn't just sit in some ivory tower, he traveled to where the Earl lived, worked and died. He has quotes from his contemporaries, his letters, his poetry and prose. And this is all very cleverly woven into a fascinating and gripping story of the Earl's life. Unlike the other rather scholarly works I've read, this one gets right into the personality of Wilmot, dissecting it, but not in a dry removed manner, rather it's as if you have an insight into the intriguing and paradoxical Earl. I suggest you get this book if you want to have a more intimate glimpse into not only the life of John Wilmot, but his period in history and the fascinating people he lived with, loved, and even hated.