Originally a historical character who served under Charlemagne, Roland is the legendary hero of the French chanson de geste La Chanson de Roland (The Song of Roland) and, as Orlando, in the L'Orlando Innamorato of Boiardo and Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.
Rogers, later Royal Governor of The Bahamas, led the Dampier expedition against the Spanish which rescued Alexander Selkirk on February 1, 1709. His book, A Cruising Voyage Round the World (1712), sold well due largely to public fascination with Selkirk's rescue.
Rodríguez de Montalvo's Amadis de Gaula (1508) is a romance narrative reworked from a previously existing story dating from at least the late thirteenth century. Robert Southey's translation into English appeared in 1803.
Regarded by many of his time as one of the day's best poets, Rochester was known for his ribald wit, elegance, cynicism, and incisive satire, which he exhibited in works that circulated in a coterie associated with the court of Charles II. His work presents a particularly impressive example of the collaborative composition and resulting complexities of attribution associated with coterie poetry.
French aristocrat known for his sometimes acerbic Maximes, which he revised and added to until the end of his life.
See Grantham, Thomas Robinson, Baron.
Mary Robinson was a novelist, poet, actress, and notable personality in British fashionable society. Married at fifteen after her father became insolvent in a whaling venture, Mary lived a fashionable life in London until the gambling and financial incompetence of her husband Thomas Robinson forced them into exile in Wales. Soon after, the Robinsons arranged publication of Mary's Poems (1775) as a means of raising money to satisfy creditors. Nevertheless, Thomas Robinson was arrested for debt and Mary and her infant daughter joined him for ten months in King's Bench Prison.
A French lawyer and persuasive public speaker who rose to power during the French Revolution, Robespierre was the primary force responsible for the bloody Reign of Terror and the guillotining of tens of thousands. Robespierre himself lost his life to the guillotine in July 1794.
A long-standing business associate and friend to Samuel Richardson, Rivington founded one of the most important family bookselling concerns of the late eighteenth century. Among other significant works, his firm published the first volume of Pamela (1740-1).
English antiquary, supporter of the French Revolution, and vegetarian activist. Ritson challenged editors of early English poetry, firmly believing in maintaining textual accuracy in the editing of early texts. As a publisher of children's songs, verses, and fairy stories, Ritson is best remembered for his Robin Hood: A Collection of All the Ancient Poems, Songs and Ballads Now Extant Relative to That Outlaw.
