Amazon couldn't find book 8, Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit by John Lyly (from which we get 'euphemism'). Based on the review in 1001 Books, I think I'm glad - it's described as "relentless in its display of verbal affectation". However, I did download Rosalynd, or Euphues' Golden Legacy, by Thomas Lodge, who was a contemporary of John Lyly. Here's a summary of the introduction.
Thomas Lodge was born around 1557, graduated from Trinity College, Oxford in 1577, and took up the law. He seems to have had an adventurous life, travelling to the Azores and the Canaries on a free booting expedition and later raiding the Spanish colonies of South America. He studied medicine, and died (supposedly of the plague) in 1625.
The plot of Rosalynd is based on a ballad written in the 14th century which can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as "The Coke's Tale of Gamelyn". Thomas Lodge turned it into a pastoral romance, describing a romantic view of the primitive simplicity of a shepherd's life. The style is "euphuistic", characterised by balanced phrases, alliteration, and similes taken from natural history.
Interestingly, Shakespeare used Rosalynd as one of his sources for the plot of "As You Like It", changing the plot only enough to make it suitable for the stage, but developing the characters and adding new ones.
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