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Four Queens and a Countess: Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and Bess of Hardwick: The Struggle for the Crown
When Mary Stuart was forced off the Scottish throne she fled to England, a move that made her cousin Queen Elizabeth very uneasy. Elizabeth had continued the religious changes made by her father and England was a Protestant country, yet ardent Catholics plotted to depose Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on the English throne. So what was Queen Elizabeth going to do with a kingdomless queen likely to take hers? She had her placed under house arrest with her old friend Bess of Hardwick, then married to her fourth husband, the wealthy and influential Earl of Shrewsbury. The charismatic Scotswoman was treated more like a dowager queen than a prisoner and enjoyed the Shrewsbury’s affluent lifestyle until Bess suspected Mary of seducing her husband. But for 16 years, with the neverending threat of a Catholic uprising, Bess was forced to accommodate Mary and her entourage at enormous cost to both her finances and her marriage. Bess had also known the doomed Jane Grey and Mary Tudor, Queen of France. She had been in service in the Grey household and companion to the infant Jane. Mary Tudor had been godmother to Bess’s fifth child. This book delves deep into the relationships of these women with their insurmountable differences, the way they tried to accommodate them, and the lasting legacy this has left.
272 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 2, 2018
I think the main problem with this book is that it is a little over ambitious in trying to cover the lives of five people in around 220 pages. It is still an interesting read, but sometimes I feel like there should be more depth in certain areas and at other times it feels like the author is just throwing facts at the reader to the point that it becomes a little overwhelming.
November 24, 2020
Some major liberties are taken with facts. For example Dudley is referred to as Elizabeth’s “former lover“. Yes, many people think they had a physical relationship. But it has not been proven and therefore we still need to be responsible historians. The author was also very derogatory toward Mary, Queen of Scots and applied adjectives to her that a historian typically does not, and it came across as amateurish and unprofessional.
Even if everything else had been great, this book was nowhere near as detailed as one might expect because the volume is slim but the subjects have between them dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of books written on them. It barely scratch the surface. I understand what the author was trying to do in showing Bess of Hardwick’a relationships to each of these queens, but there’s no way she could go in-depth in such a short volume.
Even if everything else had been great, this book was nowhere near as detailed as one might expect because the volume is slim but the subjects have between them dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of books written on them. It barely scratch the surface. I understand what the author was trying to do in showing Bess of Hardwick’a relationships to each of these queens, but there’s no way she could go in-depth in such a short volume.
March 1, 2018
Full Review to Follow on my Book Blog: https://wheretheresinktherespaper.wor...
July 26, 2021
3.5 stars
October 6, 2019
The 16th century was filled with extremely strong women who went on to shape European and world history forever. This was true for England and Scotland, two countries whose stories were intertwined by powerful women. The women who ruled these two countries during this time were women that those who study this time period know about; Lady Jane Grey, Mary I, Elizabeth I, and Mary Queen of Scots. There was one woman who knew all four of these women and lived for over 80 years: Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury. The story of these five women is told in Jill Armitage’s book, “Four Queens and a Countess: Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and Bess of Hardwick: The Struggle for the Crown”.
I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. I am always interested in learning how different people in the 16th century interacted with one another, plus I didn’t know a whole lot about Bess of Hardwick and I wanted to learn more about her.
Armitage begins her book by exploring Bess of Hardwick’s family and how they rose in power so that Bess could serve royalty. It was interesting to learn about her family and the four husbands that Bess married throughout her life: Robert Barlow, Sir William Cavendish, Sir William St. Loe, and George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. Bess also had numerous children and grandchildren who would go to be influential in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. I really wish Armitage had included family trees of the different families that were involved in her book to make it easier for the readers to understand the connections, which are vital for the stories mentioned in this particular book.
The story of Bess of Hardwick’s life begins in the height of the reign of the Tudor when Henry VIII is on the throne and ends with the beginning of the Stuarts Dynasty so Armitage does include the lives of the women who shaped these times. Armitage begins with how Henry VII and Henry VIII came to the throne, marching swiftly through the six wives of Henry VIII until reaching the reign of Henry VIII’s son King Edward VI. It is here where the pace of the book slows down a bit and we dive into the lives of the Grey family and how Bess of Hardwick knew them and how the family’s legacy came to an abrupt end with the execution of Lady Jane Grey. Armitage then explores the reigns of Mary I, Elizabeth I, and Mary Queen of Scots and how Bess of Hardwick connects all three vivacious women.
Here is where I have another problem with this particular book; it is too short (less than 300 pages) when discussing all the history that Armitage has in it. Some parts felt like a review and other parts felt like facts were flying and she didn’t go into enough detail to explain it all. I feel like Armitage was a bit ambitious for the idea of this book and that if she wrote a bit more, the book would have flowed a lot better than it did.
Overall, I found this book rather interesting and relatively easy to understand. Armitage has a writing style that is readable. This is a great book for those who are being introduced to the Tudor dynasty, but for those who know about this time period, it feels like a review. If you are interested in learning about the connection between these five women, I recommend you read, “Four Queens and a Countess: Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and Bess of Hardwick: The Struggle for the Crown” by Jill Armitage.
I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. I am always interested in learning how different people in the 16th century interacted with one another, plus I didn’t know a whole lot about Bess of Hardwick and I wanted to learn more about her.
Armitage begins her book by exploring Bess of Hardwick’s family and how they rose in power so that Bess could serve royalty. It was interesting to learn about her family and the four husbands that Bess married throughout her life: Robert Barlow, Sir William Cavendish, Sir William St. Loe, and George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. Bess also had numerous children and grandchildren who would go to be influential in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. I really wish Armitage had included family trees of the different families that were involved in her book to make it easier for the readers to understand the connections, which are vital for the stories mentioned in this particular book.
The story of Bess of Hardwick’s life begins in the height of the reign of the Tudor when Henry VIII is on the throne and ends with the beginning of the Stuarts Dynasty so Armitage does include the lives of the women who shaped these times. Armitage begins with how Henry VII and Henry VIII came to the throne, marching swiftly through the six wives of Henry VIII until reaching the reign of Henry VIII’s son King Edward VI. It is here where the pace of the book slows down a bit and we dive into the lives of the Grey family and how Bess of Hardwick knew them and how the family’s legacy came to an abrupt end with the execution of Lady Jane Grey. Armitage then explores the reigns of Mary I, Elizabeth I, and Mary Queen of Scots and how Bess of Hardwick connects all three vivacious women.
Here is where I have another problem with this particular book; it is too short (less than 300 pages) when discussing all the history that Armitage has in it. Some parts felt like a review and other parts felt like facts were flying and she didn’t go into enough detail to explain it all. I feel like Armitage was a bit ambitious for the idea of this book and that if she wrote a bit more, the book would have flowed a lot better than it did.
Overall, I found this book rather interesting and relatively easy to understand. Armitage has a writing style that is readable. This is a great book for those who are being introduced to the Tudor dynasty, but for those who know about this time period, it feels like a review. If you are interested in learning about the connection between these five women, I recommend you read, “Four Queens and a Countess: Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and Bess of Hardwick: The Struggle for the Crown” by Jill Armitage.
January 28, 2018
Really liked this book, especially reading more about Bess of Hardwick and her relationship with different Tudor women: Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots and Lady Jane Grey and the Grey Family. It was definitely an interesting read, but a small issue is small errors such as talking about Henry IV of France but it's accidentally put as Henry VI. There are just a small number of errors, but it did make me reread parts to make sure that I was following the right section. However, other than the errors, it is a recommended historical book on extraordinary Tudor women and their lives, and how their lives and relationships interlink with each other!
December 3, 2023
I loved this book. As a reader of a lot of historical fiction this nonfiction gave me a lot of background to and helped me understand better a lot of those books. Maybe it was less detailed than an in depth study but I loved getting a still pretty detailed overview of the time period without having to slog through the nitty gritty. And I loved learning about Bess , certainly one of the earliest feminists there was though she wouldn’t consider herself that because there was no such thing then. The book just provided a lot of context for me in a very interesting way.
May 2, 2019
Overall, I enjoyed the subject matter. I learned a lot about Bess, but wish there was more information about Arbella Stewart.
January 5, 2020
Excellent review if this time in history. Highly recommend if you enjoy history! Very well written.
November 24, 2020
Ended up DNF-ing this one I just couldn't get into it. Felt like there was too much information fitted in such a small book
June 17, 2018
An interesting idea for a book, but is perhaps a little bit over ambitious in trying to cover so much, as occasionally it gets a bit disjointed. It is a shame the book is not a bit longer as then it would have flowed more easily and could perhaps have gone more in-depth.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews