Bess of Hardwick [Hardcover]

Mary S Lovell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2005

Bess of Hardwick was one of the most remarkable women of the Tudor era. Gently-born in reduced circumstances, she was married at 15 and when she was widowed at 16, she was still a virgin. At 19 she married a man more than twice her age, Sir William Cavendish, a senior auditor in King Henry VIII's Court of Augmentations. Responsible for seizing church properties for the crown during the Dissolution, Cavendish enriched himself in the process. During the reign of King Edward VI, Cavendish was the Treasurer to the boy king and sisters, and he and Bess moved in the highest levels of society. They had a London home and built Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. After Cavendish's death her third husband was poisoned by his brother. Bess' fourth marriage to the patrician George, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl Marshall of England, made Bess one of the most important women at court. Her shrewd business acumen was a byword, and she was said to have 'a masculine understanding', in that age when women had little education and few legal rights. The Earl's death made her arguably the wealthiest, and therefore - next to the Queen - the most powerful woman in the country.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Lovell is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. She is the author of seven previous biographies including the bestselling THE MITFORD GIRLS.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown (August 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316724823
• ISBN-13: 978-0316724821
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,630,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The original Tudor material girl in an easy to read biography, April 12, 2006

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bess of Hardwick (Hardcover)

When Bess of Hardwick was born her prospects did not look good. Her family was of the minor nobility despite their distant royal ancestory. However Bess had both the intelligence and ability to make the best out of any situation she landed in.

By the end of her life she had had four husbands, each one steadily richer and more noble than the one before. With hindsight these choices may look inevitable or easy, however Lovell dispels these illusions in this well written biography.

Despite all the documentation the author was able to find on Bess she remains, even in this extensive book, a somewhat shadowy figure (a fate endured by many women in biographies of this era).

However, you do gain a real appreciation for the network of kinship and noble aquitance that supported Bess's rise in Tudor society. This biography also corrects some errors found in previous biographies of Bess and fills out significant new information on Bess's St Loe marriage.

If you have any interest in Bess of Hardwick this is a book you should read and its unlikey, unless a new glut of information is found, to be bettered any time soon.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Biography, April 16, 2006

By 

Anne Brear/Anne Whitfield "Author of historic... (NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bess of Hardwick (Hardcover)

From the library I picked up a few books to read over Easter. The first book I'm reading is Bess of Hardwick; First lady of Chatsworth, by Mary. S. Lovell.

I love biographies and this one doesn't disappoint at all. I didn't know much about Bess, but I'm always addicted to reading about strong women and she certainly was one.

The Tudor period isn't my first love, I'm no fan of Henry VIII, but thankfully Bess's story is so entertaining and interesting that my love of history is soon lapping up all the wonderful details of Bess's life and Tudor society in this book. Her son, William became the first Earl of Devonshire, a title still in use today.

Mary S Lovell does a wonderful job of giving the reader little details that, to an author, are excellent for research - like Bess's account entries, etc, so we know what price things were, plus snippets of letters so we know the language of the day. All very good stuff.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bess of hardwick, August 7, 2009

By 

Nancy L. Lambert "literacy lover" (queensland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth (Paperback)

One of the best I have ever read in this genre. As the author has an entree to the archives of many old families this
book is most thoroughly researched and is never boring. Really a must-have if period biographies interest you. Quite on a par with her other books in a similar field.