BESS of Hardwick: New Perspectives

Description

Bess of Hardwick was one of the most extraordinary figures of Elizabethan England. She was born the daughter of a country squire. 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 built one of the major 'prodigy houses' of the period. While married to her fourth husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, she had been jailer to Mary, Queen of Scots, and her granddaughter by her second marriage, Lady Arbella Stuart, was of royal blood and might have succeeded to the throne of England. This wide-ranging collection brings out the full range of her activities and impact. -- .

Lisa Hopkins is Professor of English at Sheffield Hallam University -- .

'Lisa Hopkins has put together what is sure to become a standard reference volume on the life of Bess of Hardwick. Solidly based on archival materials, it includes a careful assessment of the architectural and artistic environments in which Bess lived.' Early Modern Women: A Interdisciplinary Journal -- .