Devices and Desires
Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
‘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.
Born in 1521, Bess of Hardwick, businesswoman, money-lender and property tycoon, lived an astonishing eighty-seven years. Through canny choices, four husbands and a will of steel she rose from country squire’s daughter to Dowager Countess, establishing herself as one of the richest and most powerful women in England, second only to Queen Elizabeth.
Bess forged her way not merely by judicious marriage, but by shrewd exploitation of whatever assets each marriage brought. Wealth took concrete form in her passion for building and she oversaw every stage of the construction of her four houses including Hardwick New Hall, her sole surviving building, which stands as a celebration of one woman’s triumphant progress through Elizabethan England.
‘A dynamic portrait of Bess's life...’ BBC History Magazine
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this engaging, well-researched biography, Hubbard (Serving Victoria) showcases the independent nature and innate business sense of Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury (better known as Bess of Hardwick; 1527 1608), through the lens of her passion for large-scale architecture. Hubbard reveals Bess's shrewd determination to keep her assets, despite the uphill battles she faced as a woman and the strain it caused family relationships. After Bess's first widowhood, she had to fight in court to retain her inheritance; in her later marriages, she ensured that ample assets included her name. During her fourth marriage, Bess and her husband had the honor and burden of keeping Mary, Queen of Scots, under guard for 15 years. The strain of guardianship and Bess's multiple building and remodeling projects at Chatsworth, their estate, eventually resulted in a marital falling-out so spectacular that the English queen pleaded for the Shrewsburys to cease their public arguments over money and builders. Bess ultimately built four palatial homes using premier architects and craftsmen. Hubbard balances material concerns and incidents of family infighting with stories of Bess's generosity toward relatives, servants, and the poor, including building almshouses. Hubbard argues that Bess used her intellect to create the life she wanted and to create a stone-and-mortar legacy. This is a captivating new look at a powerful woman. Illus.
