Sparkling, immensely readable ... a spirited, wonderful portrait of that iron-willed anomaly. Kate Hubbard spends a good deal of time on all those dead husbands and all those famous buildings, but she also draws in the bewildering details of Bess’ inevitable entanglements with the politics of her day (it was a perilous but also alluring thing to be any kind of rival to Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth was always sharp-eyed for rivals), mixing everything into a broader-viewed biography of Bess than she’s ever received. A whole new group of readers will be glad to meet her in these pages and get to know a woman who somehow manages to feel modern to every later era.
Both a biography of an exceptional woman and an account of the architectural explosion of elaborate houses built by the Elizabethan aristocracy to demonstrate their status and wealth ... Hubbard’s account of Bess’s life is intelligent and enjoyable. She uses a range of primary sources – letters, wills and household accounts to bring Bess, her family and retainers to life. This is not only a biography of a forceful and determined woman, however. The accounts of Bess’s extensive building works at Chatsworth, Hardwick and others are used as a jumping-off point for Hubbard to explore architecture at this time and its meaning within the social and political world of Elizabethan England. An enjoyable and interesting read.
[Bess'] penchant for erecting domiciles both homey and beautiful fit well into her booming times, the well-drawn setting for Hubbard’s probing, buoyant portrait of this exceedingly wealthy, headstrong (Hubbard’s title derives from a disparaging remark made by Bess’ fourth husband), controversial, and influential woman and her world.
Kate Hubbard tells the story of Bess of Hardwick in clear and engrossing writing while carefully navigating the complexities of building, entitlement, estate, marriage, and politics in Tudor England. The author does this without losing the subject in the history and personalities of the times.
The exceptional Bess has attracted many biographers ... Kate Hubbard’s new book differs from these by examining Bess’s life as a ‘builder within the context of the Elizabethan building world’. It is, consequently, part biography and part building history ... It is in here that we can still see Bess’s wit, ambition, creativity and vast wealth ... Hubbard seems at times decidedly unsympathetic to Bess ... Kate Hubbard has written a work of considerable scholarship, but it lacks an empathetic heart for its subject.
Engaging, well-researched ... Hubbard showcases the independent nature and innate business sense of Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury through the lens of her passion for large-scale architecture ... 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.
In a sprightly recounting of her life, times, and penchant for building and remodeling vast estates, Hubbard vividly portrays a tense, roiling world in which Queen Elizabeth ruled with an unforgiving hand, all the while fearing to be betrayed and usurped ... A brisk, perceptive portrait of a formidable Elizabethan woman.
