Bess Of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth

absoulutely loved it,what an amazing woman of the tudor age,i have been to hardwick hall and chatsworth in london,so it was fabulous to bring all her history together in her houses..

History of a very powerful and ambitious lady.

Loved everything about this Tudor biography, Bess of Hardwick is impressively researched. The Author Mary S. Lovell writes the period with a sharp eye for detail and with a very comfortable narrative. These turbulent time were also brutal and this biography shows its a realistic one.Lots happened in Bess of Hardwick life time, and its very descriptive. We are taken on a journey from her youth at Hardwick Old Hall, Derbyshire through her prosperity of four spouses, all detailed. The love of her life is singled out through beautiful letters, holding a sense of romance, when time and distance keep them apart, a longing to see each other, written terms of endearment with codes used. The book shows depth on Bess's last, powerful marriage, till death do us part; the break down, the famous separation, she was a woman to be reckoned with, the battle of the Shrewsburys.We are shown all signs of the times, Bess outlived four monarchs, religion and politics which were hopelessly entangled, Bess survived by cultivating friendships on both sides. Protestant families granted lands by Henry VIII from the Dissolution of the Monasteries found their rise threatened by Catholics determined to retake the monarchy or die as martyrs. The Grey family who Bess knew, were power driven after the young Edward VI death, their plots were their daughters death warrant, an upraising, she was nothing more than a pawn, the poor blinded Lady Jane Grey was left groping for the block murmuring, "What am I to do? Where is it?", stills shocks. Mary Tudor return to the Catholic faith, her marriage to Philip of Spain was acknowledge but not accepted, these were bloody times. Elizabeth I is shown presiding over a Merry England with tight-fisted benevolence, this period also covers the Anthony Babington plot, Mary Queen of Scots involvement and death.The Author throughout the whole of this book, has thoroughly absorbed the accounting books of Bess, told in a detailed and fascinating way. Expenditures, Bess's workings of her great estates and households for which were efficiently administered. Servants, food, materials for clothes, gold and silver thread for her needlework, education costs for her children, her obsession with Building work or the extra layout from being made a custodian to Mary Queen of Scots but not just personal matters; costs were a matter of corporate status as well. Those who held or aspired to authority, in which money plays a large part, needed to justify their claims by just such an expenditure, and competitive consumption came to be the order of the day, as each sought to demonstrate that his (or very occasionally her) cultural credentials were of the highest order. If you walked straight into Hardwick Hall those credentials are visual today, rich tapestries, plaster friezes, alabaster fireplaces which colour the rooms, to the hauntingly atmospheric Long Gallery.Bess of Hardwick her manipulative charm attracted passionate supporters, she built and furnished beautiful houses, including the first Chatsworth. Grandmother to Lady Arbella Stuart who was for some time considered a possible successor to Elizabeth I, creative match-making issued in six ducal dynasties, three earldoms and a barony. Her great stone initials E.S set on the battlements of Hardwick Hall against the Derbyshire skyline awe the visitor with magnificent self-assertion today. Bess of Hardwick full of shrewdness, she became one of the richest and most remarkable women of Elizabethan England, and this biography outlines her many roads and buildings to success.Overall I found this outstanding, the footnotes given at the bottom of certain pages are extremely helpful and informative, creating no confusion over whose, who, fathers their sons, uncles, cousins or mothers their daughter and aunts all had the same names so these are nicely separated out. Also words that are not familiar to us all nowadays, but were popular back then are all given meaning. Inspiring, interesting and an in-depth account, highly recommended reading.Andrea Bowhill

The Elizabethan age seemed to breed remarkable women. Perhaps it was something in the air, or perhaps it was the fact that the reigning monarch was herself a remarkable woman, strong, assertive, dominant. Perhaps a woman on the throne gave a certain freedom of action to women in that era that may not have otherwise existed. Certainly Bess of Hardwick had many traits in common with Elizabeth - they both experienced deprivation and loss in their youth, they both had immense charm and control over men, they were both shrewd and canny, both wilful and domineering personalities. Their lives were intertwined over the course of four decades, from when a teenage Princess Elizabeth served as godmother to one of Bess' children, through Bess' serving at Court and her and her husband's custody of Mary Queen of Scots, and her granddaughter Arbella's fraught and tenuous position as a potential claimant of Elizabeth's throne.It is telling that Bess, like Elizabeth, is one of the few women in history who is famous for herself, rather than her role as some famous man's wife. How many people have heard of Bess, or Chatsworth or Hardwick Hall, 'more window than wall'? And yet how many of those could name even one of Bess' four husbands? I know I couldn't. But despite this, the common belief has always been that she 'married her way up', going from husband to increasingly rich husband. Certainly her social position improved via marriage but the immense wealth and influence she wielded later in her life was entirely as a result of her own financial acumen and political touch.I live in Derbyshire and very close to Tutbury Castle, so as a local it was fascinating to read a book that touches so much on locations and houses so familiar to me. So much English history is London-centric that it was beyond refreshing to read something focusing so much on the 'provinces', the northern counties that rarely get much of a look-in in the great events of history. Mary Lovell is an excellent writer and she has a real knack for bringing her subjects to life. One of her previous books, about Jane Digby, I can't rate highly enough - and this biography of Bess is almost as good. I felt real affection for Bess through these pages, as I'm sure Mary Lovell did, and I was sad to say goodbye to her at the end.

A very good book. I liked the images. The author has spent some time writing it. I learned a lot from her. It's amazing where she managed to find all that information to write about the Tudor period. The subject of the book, a remarkable woman, lived far back in history. We struggle to find authentic information on the beginning of the Georgian period, that is way before Austen was born, and this author has written a book about the 16th century. At that time even some men had hardly any schooling not to mention women. Her sources seem credible. I read other books by her. The one about Jane Digby was wonderful. However, the one about the Mitford sisters wasn't quite good. We all have our ups and downs. Nonetheless, the book on the French Riviera was excellent. The book about the Burton family was quite good. It shiws that even during Shakespeare's time there were clever women. Nevertheless, matters improved for women only in the 1920's when corsets went out the window.