Cornish Worthies: Sketches of Some Eminent Cornish Men and Families, Volume 2 (of 2)

Cornwall has always been a kingdom unto itself, a peninsula of fierce loyalties and stubborn independence that has given England some of its most storied soldiers, politicians, and adventurers. Walter H. Tregellas undertook the ambitious task of cataloguing these Cornish worthies in the late nineteenth century, and this second volume delves deep into the families whose names became synonymous with Cornish identity. The book opens with the Grenvilles, whose lineage stretches back through the mists of Cornish history to reveal Sir Richard Grenville, the Elizabethan sea dog who clashed with the Spanish, and his grandson Sir Bevill Grenville, the Royalist champion who died defending the king's cause during the Civil War. Tregellas traces how these families embodied Cornish virtues: martial courage, fierce family loyalty, and a tendency to align with lost causes. For readers drawn to regional history, Victorian antiquarian writing, or the drama of England's Civil War period, these sketches offer an invaluable window into how Cornwall saw itself and was seen by the rest of Britain.