Bess of Hardwick: Empire Builder, (Paperback)

from emmakendon

I found Lovell's style so dry that the book and its people are quite immemorable. Could say much about me though. It is a pleasure to come away from the sugary romance of the historical novel, certainly. Poor Earl of Shrewsbury, driven mad between Elizabeth I, Bess and May Queen of Scots, and poo...

from wealhtheowwylfing

Very well researched, complete with comprehensive documentation (footnotes AND endnotes, oh joy!) and a good understanding of the scholarship that's come before. The book (a biography of a gentlewoman who lived through the later Tudor monarchs) has a tendency to get bogged down in details and tan...

from reginaromsey

A woman to match Elizabeth in gumption and willingness to accept and make the most of what life handed her. Not a motherly person. I suspect I would have been completely overwhelmed by her.

from LARA335

Impeccably researched biography of Bess, who through her four marriages and astute purchasing of land and its management became one of the wealthiest woman in England. A contemporary, and friend of Elizabeth I, Bess appears to have been the only woman at court who had access to and so knew Mary Q...

from Meggo

For a400+ page book, I found this one surprisingly hard to put down. Bess of Hardwick was born a gentleman's daughter, and through marrying well (and marrying often), she rose to become a Countess, and the second-richest woman in England...after Queen Elizabeth I. Not only did she know everyone o...