The Notorious Lady Essex

by Edward Le Comte

Biography of Frances 'Fanny' Howard, who married Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, divorced him to marry Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset (a favourite of King James), with who she killed Sir Thomas Overbury, was tried, convicted, pardoned. Quite a woman.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sort of history book that I love to read. The language is delicious, elevating in some places almost to a Shakespearean - or at least early modern - level, peppering the text with witticisms and the occasional acerbic comment. Le Comte takes a delight in the characters' stories, painting them with sympathy but not being blind to their obvious follies. Some readers will probably not feel the same - the book is a product of its times, and certain turns of phrase (and the belief structures they represent) could encourage the sensitive to offence. However, the author is enthusiastic and knowledgeable, dishing out great dollops of gossip along the way, and in reading the book one feels one might as well be sitting in a pub with him, beer and cigarette in hand (because the book is that old).

There are, of course, issues with this sort of history, and this is why the book is rated four rather than five stars. Primary among them is that too much gossip has been included. This makes the book much more readable, but doesn't necessarily make it more historically accurate. The second, which exacerbates the first, is that there is no referencing, and therefore no immediate way to cross-check the information. However, the book is so well written that, for a change, I have been able to overlook its faults and simply enjoy the ride.

[Chels S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Massive idiot thinks grossly evil and obviously fake Protestant slanderous myths regarding the (Catholic) Middle Ages (such as 'the right to the first night') are real, therefore he can't be trusted in any way, shape or form.

He's also one of those people who writes a biography of a blatantly wicked person (Essex murdered the man who objected to her adultery and tried to murder her husband) in the hope of causing his readers to excuse them, saying 'if more is known of her, more, perhaps, may be pardoned'.