Sir Walter Raleigh's plan in 1584 for colonization in the "Colony and Dominion of Virginia" (which included the present-day states of North Carolina and Virginia) in North America ended in failure at Roanoke Island, but paved the way for subsequent colonies. The state capital of North Carolina was named in 1792 for Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of the Colony of Roanoke. Gosse’s biography was the first attempt to portray his personal career apart from the general history of his time. At the time of original publication Edmund Gosse was Clark Lecturer in English Literature at Trinity College, Cambridge. (Introduction by Wikipedia and Eugene Smith.)