‘The Forgotten Tudor Women: Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley & Elisabeth Parr’ by Sylvia Barbara Soberton added to the Other Biographies section of the bibliography.
Entries added to the following:
Art – Paintings – Lady Jayne/Streatham.
Writings of Lady Jane Grey – Letters – Letter to Mary.
‘Queen Jane’ features in the Tudor Society’s 2019 Calendar.
You can buy it here:
We get a glimpse of Lady Jane Grey on the 4th of November 1551 when Edward VI entertained Mary of Guise at the Palace of Westminster.
Edward recorded the details in his diary.
4th November
‘The Duke of Suffolk and the Lord Fitzwalter, the Lord Braye and many other lords and gentlemen accompanied by Suffolk’s wife, the Lady Frances, the Lady Margaret [Douglas], the Duchess of Richmond and of Northumberland, the Lady Jane, daughter to the Duke of Suffolk, the marchionesses of Northampton and Winchester, the countesses of Arundel, Bedford, Huntingdon and Rutland, with 100 other ladies and gentlewomen, went to the dowager and brought her through London to Westminster.’
p.44, England’s Boy King: The Diary of Edward VI, 1547-1553
edited by Jonathan North
An example of Edward’s diary.
‘Henry VIII is well known for his tumultuous relationships with women, and he is often defined by his many marriages. But what do we see if we take a different look? When we see Henry through the men in his life, a new perspective on this famous king emerges…
Henry’s relationships with the men who surrounded him reveal much about his beliefs, behaviour and character. They show him to be capable of fierce, but seldom abiding loyalty; of raising men only to destroy them later. He loved to be attended and entertained by boisterous young men who shared his passion for sport, but at other times he was more diverted by men of intellect, culture and wit. Often trusting and easily led by his male attendants and advisers during the early years of his reign, he matured into a profoundly suspicious and paranoid king whose favour could be suddenly withdrawn, as many of his later servants found to their cost. His cruelty and ruthlessness would become ever more apparent as his reign progressed, but the tenderness that he displayed towards those he trusted proves that he was never the one-dimensional monster that he is often portrayed as.
In this fascinating and often surprising new biography, Tracy Borman reveals Henry’s personality in all its multi-faceted, contradictory glory.’
Further details – Hodder & Stoughton
‘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. At a time when women were legally and financially subordinate to their husbands, Bess succeeded in manipulating hers to her own and her children’s advantage, accumulating great riches and estates in the process. Wealth took concrete form in her passion for building and she oversaw every stage of the construction of her four country houses: Chatsworth, Hardwick Old Hall, Hardwick New Hall and Owlcotes. Hardwick New Hall, her sole surviving building, is stamped all over with Bess’s identity and her initials: it stands as a celebration of one woman’s triumphant progress through Elizabethan England.
In Devices and Desires, Kate Hubbard examines Bess’s life as a builder within the context of the male-dominated Elizabethan architectural world. This new biography traces the creation of Hardwick and Bess’s lost houses, as well as estates such as Longleat, Holdenby and Theobalds, all known to and coveted by Bess. Throughout, it seeks to locate Bess within Hardwick, her greatest achievement and her lasting monument.’
Further details – Amazon.co.uk
