Devices and Desires: Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England

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. Agent: Georgia Rogers Garrett, Coleridge & White. (Feb.)