"The Other Queen": Biography of Bess of Hardwick - Wikipedia - 0 views
-
Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (27 July 1527 – 13 February
1608[1]), known as Bess
of Hardwick, was the third surviving daughter of John Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.
She was married
four times, firstly to Robert Barlow, who
died in his teens;
secondly to
the
courtier
Sir William
Cavendish
; thirdly to
Sir
William
St
Loe
; and
lastly
to
George Talbot, 6th
Earl of
Shrewsbury
, sometime keeper
to the captive
Mary, Queen of Scots
.
An accomplished
needlewoman
,
Bess hosted Mary
at
Chatsworth House
for extended periods in 1569,
1570, and 1571, during which time they worked together on
the Oxburgh
Hangings.
[2]
In 1601, Bess
ordered an inventory of the household furnishings
including
textiles
at her three properties at Chatsworth and
Hardwick, which survives, and in her will she bequeathed
these items to her
heirs
to be preserved in
perpetuity. The 400-year-old collection, now known as the
Hardwick Hall
textiles, is the
largest collection of
tapestry
,
embroidery
,
canvaswork
, and other textiles to have been
preserved by a single private family.
[3]
-
She was married four times, firstly to Robert Barlow, who died in his teens;
secondly to the courtier Sir William Cavendish; thirdly to
Sir William
St Loe; and lastly to George Talbot, 6th Earl of
Shrewsbury, sometime keeper to the captive Mary, Queen of Scots. -
She was married four times, firstly to Robert Barlow, who
died in his teens;
secondly to the
courtier
Sir William Cavendish
; thirdly to
Sir
William
St
Loe
; and lastly
to
George Talbot, 6th Earl of
Shrewsbury
, sometime keeper to the captive
Mary, Queen of Scots
. - ...3 more annotations...
-
A good biography of Bess of Hardwick, an important character in "The Other Queen." Along with her husband, George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, Bess of Hardwick was responsible for keeping Mary, Queen of Scots a prisoner in their home at the behest of Queen Elizabeth I. -
While reading The Other Queen, I found the character of Bess of Hardwick to be as interesting, if not more so than, Mary, Queen of Scots. However, I often felt that Philippa Gregory made her a little too two-dimensional. Bess was always the practical wife worried about money, who than became the practical scorned wife worried about money. I'm sure she there must have been more the Bess than that!
