The Earl of Essex and the Bishop's Library

Author:

Peter Booker

Report:

46

Page:

23

Year:

2019

Subject Matter:

Literature and Art

Excerpt:

In February 2007, the author was approached by a lady who felt strongly that stolen books currently in England should be returned to their former home in Faro. Would I help her in her quixotic campaign with MPs in England and with the Librarian of their current home, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, for the return of these stolen goods?

In December of 2013, the association Faro 1540 (Associação de Defesa e Promoção do Património Ambiental e Cultural de Faro) also passed a motion to reclaim the books, which they claim were taken during the sack of Faro by the English corsair, the Earl of Essex, in July 1596. On the other hand, it is clear from their silence that neither the establishment in England nor that in Portugal is concerned with this issue.

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