Four Earls and a Playwright

Description

Sir Thomas Wriothesley worked as a court official during the reign of Henry VIII, eventually rising to the office of Lord Chancellor. In the 1530s and 1540s he amassed a large property portfolio and was created Earl of Southampton by Henry VIII in 1547.
The earldom lasted four generations until the fourth earl died in 1667 and shared his property amongst his three surviving daughters.
This book tells the story of how Thomas Wriothesley created his fortune and its management by his successors. The third earl was a notable figure at the court of King James I and he also comes down to posterity as the patron of William Shakespeare. He was also a pioneer founder of the Virginia colony in the United States.
His second son, Thomas, became the fourth earl in 1624 to a heavily indebted inheritance. He succeeded in reviving the family fortune and was a stateman at the courts of Charles I and Charles II.