Giles Gossip is an author about whom very little public information is available; the only confirmable details of his life are his name and a small number of recorded writings, while his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background cannot be verified. One work by him is held in the collection, Coronation Anecdotes. Judging from the title, the book concerns royal coronation ceremonies and belongs to the genre of anecdotal writing built around historical events, typically gathering details of ritual, the words and deeds of individuals, and stories circulating in and around the court; it combines documentary value with readability. Such material places considerable demands on an author's ability to sift historical sources and to judge narrative proportion, requiring fidelity to documents while weaving scattered records into a coherent account. In the absence of other works or critical commentary, it is difficult to assess the overall character and influence of his writing; readers may best regard this book as a window onto coronation customs rather than a systematic study.
