Lady Penelope: The Lost Tale of Love and Politics in the Court of Elizabeth I

by Sally Varlow

Penelope Devereux was the brightest star who ever shone in the court of Queen Elizabeth I in 16th-century England, and this biography challenges the usual historians' view that she was merely a footnote to famous men's lives. The questions explored include: What political significance did she hold with her brother, Essex, and the Queen? Why did Essex name her as a major player in the coup that cost him his head, and how did she walk free? What was she doing having secret meetings with the most hunted Jesuit priest in England? Most important of all, if Mary Boleyn was her great-grandmother, was King Henry VIII her great-grandfather? Her life touched on every great event of the age—the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the arrival of King James, and the Gunpowder Plot. She also knew many of the celebrated artistic figures of the day, including William Shakespeare. She was the most beautiful woman of her generation and muse to countless poets and musicians, yet she died in disgrace—a widow, outcast from court, and stripped of all her titles. Set against the character of Queen Elizabeth I and the staged pageantry of her Court, this dramatic and ultimately tragic story will have immediate appeal to all lovers of historical biographies.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Tudor Period, British Literature, 16th Century, Elizabethan Period

296 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2007

Reviews

[Indiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Lady Penelope (Devereux) Rich (Blount) has always been one of my favorite Elizabethan ladies. Although a popular character in fictional histories, very few carefully researched books have been written about her. A smallish one came out in 1983 but this one is much more comprehensive and will probably be the last one written on her for quite a while.

What it really points out is that not much is known about one of the most celebrated woman of her age. Poets might have sung her praises, she might have moved in the most exalted circles and been a favorite of the Queen but most of her footsteps through history have been lost or purposely erased subsequent to her death. Very few of her letters remain and so what we know of her life is through the biased and colored comments of others. So while this biography details everything that can be known of her life, we never really get to know Penelope. That incredible sense of being that so many contemporaries wrote about is lacking in this book. I can’t necessarily fault the biographer for refusing to breath a personality into a book when it is not truly known. This isn’t a novel of historical fiction. But it was the lack of Penelope’s presence that kept this from being a truly fascinating book.

I found it interesting that while the biographer refused to read a sense of person into Penelope, she had not qualms about absolutely insisting on the paternity of some of Mary Boleyn’s children. Mary was Penelope’s Great Grandma. Whether or not Henry VIII was Penelope’s Great Grandpa will never be truly known in my mind…unless bodies are exhumed and DNA testing done. But the biographer was absolutely insistent – based on a date in a family bible that she found – that Henry VIII was absolutely her ancestor and uses it as justification for Elizabeth’s benevolent treatment of Penelope and her brother Essex. I was slightly troubled by this. But not enough that I wouldn’t recommend this book. A keeper if only because I collect all books written on Penelope.

[Ruth Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so wanted to enjoy this book, as the product description sounded fascinating and I love this period in history. Like many other, I felt let down as the book overwhelms with detail - it made me feel I could not see the wood for the trees, or in this case, I could not follow the story of Penelope for the vast amount of detail of who went where when and with whom (and yes, the names are simply confusing to this reader). Buy it if you enjoy this level of information but otherwise you may just feel you are wading through treacle.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and insightful biography of one of history's most colorful yet long forgotten women. Penelope Devereaux(Lady Rich) was the sister of Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex,the last of Queen Elizabeth I favorites and one of Shakespear's patrons. Her grandmother was Mary Boleyn's daughter and was either Elizabeth's first cousin or more likely her half sister. Her mother married Elizabeth's first love Robert Dudley. Through her family on both sides, she was directly descended from 4 medieval kings and had more of claim to the English throne than the Tudors, a fact which ultimately led to her brother's downfall. Her beauty and wit inspired the poet Sir Philip Sidney to write sonnnets in her honor. Her life spanned not only the reign of Elizabeth but James I. Anyone interested in Tudor history will find connections with her to all the major figures of that time.

[Frannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Penelope is an ambitious woman who navigates Elizabethan court life with ease. Varlow paints the downfalls of the Devereux family so well that the reader will find it difficult not to root for Penelope, who walks a thin tightrope over what is acceptable and what could place her honor/name in danger. Between the Devereux coup and the Gunpowder Plot, colorful historical women (aside from Elizabeth I) are not often discussed, but through Varlow's detailed research and engaging writing, I am able to picture the vividness of Penelope and other women of this time period.

[Claire Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read into the very full and eventful life of a lady who had an arranged marriage and a marriage for love, the love of her family driving her forward in her life to do many things for good and bad and dying while still being sued by her second Husband's wider family

[Cindy West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and easy to read

I really enjoyed reading this book and found it easy to read and factual about Lady Penelope who has been hidden in time

[Zara Priestley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting life of the family of lettice Knolleys

[Miranda Kaufmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

My TLS review:

‘Sally Varlow: THE LADY PENELOPE: The lost tale of Love and Politics in the Court of Elizabeth I’ Review, TLS, 13 July 2007, p. 29.

Found guilty of treason in February 1601, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, named amongst his co-conspirators “one who is nearest to me, my sister, who did continually urge me on”. Penelope, wife to the aptly-named Lord Rich, narrowly evaded punishment, primarily because her lover, Lord Mountjoy, commanded the army in Ireland. More often remembered as the court beauty who inspired Philip Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella, Penelope was, as Sally Varlow demonstrates here, a key political figure at the Elizabethan court.

Varlow has discovered an inscription in Sir Francis Knollys’s Latin Dictionary which suggests that his wife, Katherine Carey, Penelope and Essex’s grandmother, was fathered by Henry VIII. However, this is more relevant to the life of Carey than to that of her granddaughter. Penelope’s influence derived more directly from her persuasive character and powerful connections. Her thirty-three extant letters show the everyday wielding of this influence in the form of patronage, but sadly this is not explored. Varlow’s judgements follow uncritically the Devereux’s views of political life, so that she vilifies the Cecils and Queen Elizabeth, while honeying over the treasonous behaviour of Penelope and Essex and their friends.

Varlow is happiest discussing Penelope’s personal life, notably her perculiarly public affair with Mountjoy: while still married she bore him five children, naming the eldest son “Montjoy”. Penelope’s homes at Chartley, Leighs Priory and Wanstead are described with a travel-writer’s flair for evocative detail. The speculations on Penelope’s feelings are, however, less convincing, and not helped by the author’s populist prose : “No one knows what Penelope thought, but her heart must have ached”.

Varlow laments that at the end of Penelope’s life, and ever since, there has been “no one to ride out as her champion and defend her honour”, as Mountjoy had at the Ascension Day tilts in 1590. Varlow’s quest to resurrect the reputation of her subject is a noble one, but she lacks the eloquence and analytical powers (“plays were the new black”) necessary fully to succeed in it.

[Midgetbee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overly romantic, but entertainingly written. It convincingly portrays Penelope's place at the centre of court life, but it's near-hero worship of Penelope and the Devereux line leaves little room for anything other than sniping at everyone who wasn't them or who didn't give in to their every demand. This can range from the silly (Elizabethan corruption was only because of the Cecil's...who were the devil) to the incredibly naive (attempting to depose the monarch is evil...unless the Devereux are doing it...then it's just high spirits and should be forgiven). Oh, and having an affair and passing off that man's children as your husbands is romantic. Or something.

That said, Penelope Devereux/Rich etc, was a fascinating woman in her own right and her story deserves to be told. Barlow pushes the possibly-royal connections too hard, and her Penelope-mania can get a bit much, but as an account of how things looked from the POV of the Earl of Essex and his allies and why he may have felt his actions were just, this is a must-read as well as an account of a woman who was truly remarkable.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, and a different angle on the court of Elizabeth I. Penelope Deveraux, the sister of the executed Earl of Essex, has all but disappeared from record thanks to an excellent smear campaign by Robert Cecil, but she lives again here as Sally Varlow presents the dying days of the Elizabethan age through the story of one of the most powerful families in the land. Beautiful and strong-willed, Penelope was married young against her will, but found love in later life and was given incredible license by Elizabeth to carry on her affair under the nose of her husband. Indeed, both Penelope and her brother and sister were treated with incredible leniency by the old queen, and Varlow suggests that they were far more closely related than has hitherto been suggested.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Narrative non-fiction this is not. While I'm sure Penelope Rich is a fascinating, exciting person, I never saw it in this book. But my biggest annoyance was the author's continuous switching of names. Yes, I know that British nobility can be accurately called by a dozen names - Robert, Sussex, Lord Deveraux, Lord Sussex, Robert Sussex, etc. - but you don't have to switch names every time you refer to the person! It was very confusing to read seven names in one paragraph, but the paragraph is only talking about two different people.
I couldn't get through this one. I'll try again when I have more time to spend in concentration on all the names, dates, family relations, etc.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this book is obviously the product of meticulous research and set during a very interesting period of history, I have to admit I found it hard going. I was really attracted to finding out more about the character of Penelope but there were lots of pages where there was really very little about her and I found myself wishing the book had been a little smaller and concentrated just on her. As a result, I really didn’t get a sense of Penelope as a person. I also found the author’s occasional use of colloquialisms quite distracting, e.g. “an heir and a spare”, there being “three of them in the marriage so it must have been crowded” a la Charles, Diana and Camilla, etc.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A re-read of this one and I must admit I enjoyed it so much more second time around. In her day Penelope Devereux was one of the most well known and beautiful women at the court of Elizabeth Ist. Yet very little has ever been written about her. Sister to the queen's last favourite, daughter to a woman who married another of the queen's favourites and related to many of the most powerful families in Tudor England, she has been largely forgotten. Ms Varlow's excellent book brings this strong and fascinating woman out of the shadows and gives her a voice. Excellent read.

[Marie Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent bio on Lady Penelope Devereux Rich. Details the historical events that she probably had a part of, and more details of her brother Essex. Review here: http://www.burtonbookreview.com/2015/...

[Susanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, but I found that some criticisms I'd read held true (pick one name to call someone by, and keep using that name even if they obtain another!). But it was interesting to read more about the Essex trial from another perspective.

[Mlg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating woman who was Sir Phillip Sidney's muse. Entangled with many of the well known names of her time, she was a woman far ahead of her time.

[Melisende]

review pending

[Katharine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm going to have to admit defeat with is one, I'm afraid. I just think it is so poorly written and although the subject matter is interesting, the author has simply failed to grab me.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another interesting female personality from Tudor times. A fascinating story and another view of Elizabeth I, but from afar.

[Kristina Smith]

Didn't finish due to health, maybe I will later.