Bess of Hardwick

Having read books about Mary,Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I (and than about both of them by Jane Dunn) I was thrilled to finally put my hands on a book focused on a very important character who was standing in the shadow of these two famous historical characters and also played important role in the story: Bess of Hardwick, unwilling "hostess" to imprisoned scottish queen, who found herself as much imprisoned as her royal guest. The wealthiest woman in Tudor England right behind Elizabeth herself, Bess was forced (along with her husband) to always keep a watch over her unlucky visitor and her servants, which meant not only providing luxury for a huge group of people but also to always be close to scottish queen and stay in sort of house prison as her guards. If Bess and her husband always desired royal visit that would bring them patronage and favors, they did not count on such extended (15 years!) visit that would drain their finances and ultimately destroy their marriage.

Mary S. Lovell did excellent research into life of this formidable lady but the huge wealth of historical documents never stands on the way of the gripping story - instead of potentially boring list of informations, Lovell inspiredly portraits unusual person behind the facts: Bess started with nothing except her brain,charm and determination - she was no beauty,neither she had privileged background but somehow trough several marriages she accumulated wealth and connections,fighting the law and protecting interests of her ever-growing family with ferocity that was out of character for a meek and mild ladies of her time. Just for example,it was typical for widowed women to always have someone's "protection" and "guardians" when it came to estates and financial questions,well not Bess of Hardwick who took care of the business herself and nobody questioned her decisions as she invested left and right, balanced her unruly flock, political intrigues and court ups and downs.

Thought she might be chiefly remembered for her role in Mary,Queen of Scots story today, this book shows that this was just one of the many interesting chapters in the life of this interesting lady - there were lots of fascinating stories before and after scottish queen - amusing anecdote: when new Queen (Anne of Denmark) arrived in England,she was invited as a visitor to Bess palace but the Queen graciously declined,knowing her reputation as "hostess" to another Queen.