Bess of hardwicks letters the complete correspondence. Hubbards chief interest may lie in bess s building work and domestic arrangements, but she deals deftly with the treacherous politics of the time. Through four marriages, bess managed to build a legacy of considerable wealth and property for her descendants, many of whom still occupy prominent places in the british aristocracy. Bess of hardwick s letters brings together, for the first time, the remarkable letters written to and from bess of hardwick. Born on the site of hardwick old hall bess rose to a position of great power within elizabethan society. On her twelfth birthday, bess of hardwick receives the news that she is to be a waiting gentlewoman in the household of lady zouche. 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.
But bess had enemies and she must fight for survival. Bess of hardwick her manipulative charm attracted passionate supporters, she built and furnished beautiful houses, including the first chatsworth. Elizabeth cavendish, later elizabeth talbot, countess of shrewsbury c. Hardwicks history is closely associated with the lady who built it, elizabeth, countess of shrewsbury, known to many simply as bess of hardwick. First lady of chatsworth was a separate book, perhaps about a later or earlier period in bess life. In this engaging, wellresearched biography, hubbard serving victoria showcases the independent nature and innate business sense of elizabeth, countess of shrewsbury better known as bess o.
Bess hardwick, the fifth daughter of an impoverished derbyshire nobleman, did not have an auspicious start in life. A thoroughly researched and welldocumented biography of bess of hardwick, a woman way ahead of her time. As jailor to mary, queen of scots, she was at the heart of a power struggle for the english throne. Pdf bess of hardwick download full pdf book download. 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. In devices and desires, kate hubbard examines bess s life as a builder within the context of the maledominated elizabethan architectural world. The author of the september queen explores tudor england with the tale of bess of hardwickthe formidable fourtime widowed tudor dynast who became one of the most powerful women in the history of england. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Bess of hardwick was one of the most extraordinary figures of elizabethan england. Bringing the tudor age to exuberant life hugh massingberd, mail on sunday, mary s. I did not realize that the two books the bess of hardwick. Read the hardwick love story by janet roberts available from rakuten kobo. Aged just ten, lovechild bess, was abandoned at walton hall by her desperate and sickly mother.
It appears on her 2012 album the plum tree and the rose. By surveying the complete correspondence, author alison wiggins uncovers the wide range of uses to which bess put letters. Profile for bess of hardwick from the other queen the. By a series of wellmade marriages, she rose to the highest levels of english nobility and became enormously wealthy. Hardwick s history is closely associated with the lady who built it, elizabeth, countess of shrewsbury, known to many simply as bess of hardwick. The only complaint i have is that i mistakenly thought this title was one book on bess of hardwick, and that bess of hardwick. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study.
She is renowned for her reputation as a dynast and indomitable matriarch and perhaps best known as the builder of great stately. The definitive biography roy strong the remarkable story of bess of hardwick, her ascent through elizabethan society and the houses she built that shaped british architectural history. Engagingly traces bess of hardwick s astonishing rise, her sometimes fraught experience amid tudor power struggles, and her legacy as a patron of architecture and the decorative arts. On her twelfth birthday, bess of hardwick receives the news that she is to be a waiting. She was promptly sent away by her philandering father, the colliery owner robert harvey, to become an educated and accomplished young woman and to escape the beatings at the cruel hand of her vengeful stepmother, hannah. Gentlyborn in reduced circumstances, she was married at 15, wedded at 16 and still a virgin. Lovell tells the story of bess of hardwick, one of the most remarkable women of the tudor era. The urchin of walton hall the hardwick sagas book 1 ebook. A wonderfully researched sunday express biography of bess of hartwick, the most powerful woman in england next to queen elizabeth. Praise for venus in winter a vast panorama of tudor history, from the viewpoint of a legendary woman who loomed large in itthe redoubtable, fabulously wealthy, muchmarried bess of hardwick.
She wanted to use her intelligence to study and learn, probably. Born into the minor nobility, bess of hardwick rose to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in england, second only to queen elizabeth i. Elizabeth hardwick, known as bess of hardwick, rose from modest origins to become the wealthiest woman in elizabethan england after the queen herself. Bess of hardwicks letters language, materiality, and early. She is renowned for her reputation as a dynast and indomitable matriarch and perhaps best known as the builder of great stately homes like the magnificent hardwick hall and. She had been brought up at hardwick hall, although her father died within a year of her birth, and the family were impoverished. Kate hubbard attempts to highlight bess in, devices and desires. By surveying the complete correspondence, author alison wiggins uncovers the wide range of uses to which b. Nov 10, 2016 bess of hardwicks letters is the first booklength study of the c.
Devices and desires by kate hubbard overdrive rakuten. A novel of bess of hardwick kindle edition by bagwell, gillian. I hardwick ebooks epub and pdf downloads ebookmall. The author of the september queen explores tudor england with the tale of bess of hardwick the formidable fourtime widowed tudor dynast who became one of the most powerful women in the history of england. Born in 1521, bess of hardwick, businesswoman, moneylender and property tycoon, lived an astonishing eightyseven years. The song hardwick s lofty towers by sarah mcquaid is from the perspective of bess. Nov 01, 2018 known for her assertive prowess, boundless wealth, and obsession with constructing and owning homes and properties.
But by the end of her long life which a recent redating of her birth suggests was even longer than previously thought she was the richest woman in england outside. From circa 27 august 1559, her married name became st. Venus in winter king county library system overdrive. Bess of hardwicks letters is the first booklength study of the c. Bess of hardwick was one of the most remarkable women of the tudor era. I wanted to learn more about this person and the book did just that.
The best account yet available of this shrewd, enigmatic and remarkable woman. Language, materiality, and early modern epistolary culture alison wiggins. Bess of hardwick is one of my favourite nonroyal women to read about from the tudor period of english history. But by the end of her long life which a recent redating of her birth suggests was even longer than previously thought she was the richest woman in england outside the royal family, had risen to the rank of countess and seen two of her daughters do the same and had. At 19 she married a man more than twice her age, sir william cavendish, a senior auditor in king henry viiis court of augmentations. Kate hubbard the remarkable story of bess of hardwick, her ascent through elizabethan society and the houses she built that shaped british architectural history. Driving solo in the left lane over narrow country roads more than paid off with hardwick. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading venus in winter. Bess is a character in the short story antickes and frets by susanna clarke, in her 2006 collection the ladies of grace adieu and other stories. Sunday times london from the author of the sisters, a chronicle of the most brutal, turbulent, and exuberant period of englands history. This book will take its place rightly as the definitive biography of bess of hardwick roy strong, country life part biography and part building history, considering along the way the erection of elizabethan prodigy houses, such as longleat, theobalds, wollaton, and, above all, bess s hardwick new hall. The remarkable story of bess of hardwick, her ascent through elizabethan society and the houses she built that shaped british architectural history. I hardwick ebooks epub and pdf format i hardwick ebooks. Bess of hardwick s letters is the first booklength study of the c.
Since reading her bio id wanted to visit chatsworth and hardwick hall, both of which she built. Bess of hardwick, countess of shrewsbury, by rowland lockey, 1592 in the collection of the national portrait gallery, london. Canny, witty and ambitious, bess was born into genteel poverty, and managed to raise herself to the heights of elizabethan society and privilege by the time of her death of extreme old age. She fought for her rights, managed her own finances, and she took the money she inherited through her marriages and invested it wisely. Bess of hardwick and the building of elizabethan england. Sunday times londonfrom the author of the sisters, a chronicle of the most brutal, turbulent, and exuberant period of englands history. February, 1608 derbyshire, england english landowner. Gentlyborn in reduced circumstances, she was married at 15 and when she was widowed at 16, she was still a virgin. She was married four times, firstly to robert barlow, who died in his teens.
Bess of hardwick started out life in a pretty nondescript sort of way, but when she died she was the second wealthiest woman in england, coming in only after the queen herself. S set on the battlements of hardwick hall against the derbyshire skyline awe the visitor with magnificent selfassertion today. Bess hardwick 15271608 started out respectably enough, but would have gotten lost among the numerous progeny of her wellborn but improvident family of gentlemen farmers had she not been married off brilliantly at age 15, only to be widowed two years later by her even younger husband. The novel venus in winter does justice to the extraordinary, powerful, and dangerous bess of hardwick. Charismatic and feisty, with a flair for making money and building houses, she survived four husbands to become chatelaine of chatsworth and hardwick hall. Bess is an icon for modernday feminists and some would say a formidable woman. First lady of chatsworth, 15271608 from the worlds largest community of readers. Lee the hardwick love story por janet roberts disponible en rakuten kobo. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read bess of hardwick. Bess was a remarkable woman, rising from humble beginnings to become the wealthiest woman in england after elizabeth. The urchin of walton hall the hardwick sagas book 1.
1287 284 146 860 994 1432 104 268 1647 1231 1044 533 1293 1505 237 192 1553 275 1205 666 1309 111 867 768 1383 1161 21 1118 817 398 637 1462 1350