Bess of Hardwick: Empire Builder

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.

Bess of Hardwick was born the daughter of a gentlemen squire, that is, a sort of farmer with a few servents, but an ancestry that allowed him (and his wife) to be part of the "gentry" in the age of King Henry VIII. She was able to become, by the time of her death at the (then) remarkable age of 80 the second most powerful and richest woman in England, after her friend Queen Elizabeth I. She had been able to marry off her children and step children very well,into the most powerful names of Tudor aristocracy and the author shows how many aristocratic houses of England are directly descended from this woman, including the Dukes of Devonshire. Bess began the building of the fabulous home "Chatsworth" which is still a showpiece, though re-done over time. (See the biography of "Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire for more on Chatsworth). Bess was the grandmother of the Princess Arbella, who could have just as well been the next Queen of England after Elizabeth I: Arbella had the exact same blood lines as her cousin James I, but her life, plotted and planned by her grandmother who had raised her with Queenship in mind, ended tragically). Bess was a formidable yet at times kindly woman, as the author says, a type of CEO in the Tudor world. It was a fascinating biography and a great glimpse in the Tudor/ Elzabethan world. (Having read so much about Henry VIII, Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, etc, it is interesting to read about a non royal person, for other insights into that world.) Very well and clearly written. Highly recommended.

My first experience with Bess of Hardwick was through a historical romance novel several years ago. After some research online, I discovered so much more about her. I find her to be an extraordinary woman who lived in difficult times. I felt that Mary Lovell captured her perfectly. There was so much more information that I had never read before. I would recommend this biography to anyone who enjoys reading about life in the Tudor era.

A well researched, very interesting study of a remarkable woman who kept her head when many around her were (literally) losing theirs. She also managed to keep and enlarge a fortune.

This is a marvelous book. I was at first worried it would be too dry and erudite for me, but I enjoyed every word. It is beautifully written with new research and strong documentation. The footnotes are intesting also. I apprecaited the way Mary Lovell referred to the present to make situations more understandable and how she explained old terms and side issues with footnotes at the bottom of the pages. Because the British nobility has so many names and titles the same, she refers back to other incidents to help keep them straight in your mind. I highly recommend this book.