A devoted cat-lover, he also wrote the biographies of several cats who came to live with him at Trenarren, claiming that it was as much a challenge to write the biography of a favourite cat as it was a Queen of England. He also published a number of short stories, mainly about Cornwall, of interest more for their thinly veiled autobiographical resonances than their literary merit. His last book, "My View of Shakespeare", published in 1996, summed up his life-time's appreciation of "The Bard of Stratford". The book was dedicated ""To HRH The Prince of Wales in common devotion to William Shakespeare"." One of Rowse's great enthusiasms was collecting books, and he owned many first editions, many of them bearing his acerbic annotations. For example, his copy of the January 1924 edition of "The Adelphi" magazine edited by John Middleton Murry bears a pencilled note after Murry's poem "In Memory of Katherine Mansfield": 'Sentimental gush on the part of JMM. And a bad poem. A.L.R.' Upon his death in 1997 he bequeathed his book collection to the University of Exeter, and his personal archive of manuscripts, diaries, and correspondence. In 1998 the University Librarian selected about sixty books from Rowse's own working library and a complete set of his published books. The Royal Institution of Cornwall selected some of the remaining books and the rest were sold to dealers. The London booksellers Heywood Hill produced two catalogues of books from his library. Rowse was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) and of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL). In addition to his DLitt (Oxon) degree (1953), Rowse received the honorary degrees of DLitt from the University of Exeter in 1960 and DCL from the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada, the same year. In 1968 he was made a Bard of Gorseth Kernow, taking the bardic name "Lef A Gernow" ('Voice of Cornwall'), reflecting his high standing in the Cornish community. He was elected to the Athenaeum Club under Rule II in 1972, and received the Benson Medal of the Royal Society of Literature in 1982. Rowse was appointed a Companion of Honour (CH) in the 1997 New Year Honours. As well as his own appearances on radio and television, Rowse has been depicted in various TV drama documentaries about British politics in the 1930s and appeasement.