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

by Kate Hubbard

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, property tycoon, businesswoman, money-lender and four-times wife, lived an astonishing eighty-seven years. Through canny choices 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 a judicious choice of husbands, but by shrewd exploitation of whatever assets those husbands brought her. 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.

But her greatest passion was for building and Bess kept a beady eye on every stage of the creation of her four houses. Hardwick New Hall, her sole surviving building, is stamped all over with Bess’s identity and her initials, both outside and in. Hardwick is a celebration of one woman’s triumphant progress through Elizabethan England.

In this new biography, Kate Hubbard examines Bess’s life as a builder within the context of the Elizabethan building world, dominated as it was by men. Devices and Desires traces the building of Hardwick, but also of other houses that Bess knew, visited and coveted; Longleat, Holdenby, Theobalds. Throughout, it seeks to locate Bess within Hardwick, the lasting monument she left behind her.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, British Literature, Tudor Period, Historical, Audiobook

354 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2018

Reviews

[Orsolya · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’ve never heard of the name Bess of Hardwick (or Shrewsbury); then you must be living under a Tudor rock. Bess may have ‘only’ been a Countess but her legacy has lived on. Known for her assertive prowess, boundless wealth, and obsession with constructing and owning homes and properties; Bess is an icon for modern-day feminists and some would say a formidable woman. Kate Hubbard attempts to highlight Bess in, “Devices and Desires: Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England”.

Hubbard begins “Devices and Desires” by strongly asserting and warning readers that her text is not a straight-forward historical biography and rather focuses on Bess of Hardwick’s logistical whereabouts, expenditures, and architectural wonders. Yet, this disclaimer is ‘off’ and doesn’t properly describe the clumsy hypothesis of “Devices and Desires”. In fact, it is quite difficult to summarize the aim of the text as it is part biography, part Tudor study, and part architectural history. This isn’t necessarily a ‘bad thing’ in terms of content as “Devices and Desires” is quite interesting but it does result in a disjointed reading lacking a cohesive strand that is jumpy and complicated to follow.

Elaborating on this, Hubbard often sidelines Bess and seems to go off on tangents discussing anything but the focus of “Devices and Desires”. The actual content is often repetitive and slow-moving, bogging down the reader and cluttering the memory bank. That being said, when “Devices and Desires” is on task and actually discusses Bess; it is quite riveting and brings her to life. One wouldn’t expect a focus on architecture and account books to be a page-turner and yet “Devices and Desires” is successful.

Hubbard’s academic research is abundant and obvious throughout the pages of “Devices and Desires”, making the book credible, as a whole. Sadly, this scholarly approach doesn’t prevent Hubbard from riddling “Devices and Desires” with speculative “would have”, “could have”, and “probably”- statements presuming certain notions, thoughts, and actions on behalf of Bess. These are certainly best to be taken with a grain of salt although they are indeed thought-provoking and help to better understand the micro-view.

As “Devices and Desires” progresses, an odd far-extreme is established. Meaning, the book can only be read in limited spurts as there is simply too much information to grasp quickly but the portion on Bess are heightened in engagement. This means that it can still be said that “Devices and Desires” is ‘all over the place’ and hard to figure out.

Hubbard excels at quoting personal letters and accounts that don’t as often see the light of day amongst other history texts which makes Bess feel more ‘real’. Equally noteworthy is the detailed insight into Bess’s family and offspring not just in terms of wealth and architecture; but as individuals. Anyone familiar with Tudor history is aware of Bess and her multiple husbands but there is much more drama and history surrounding Bess that is ripe for the picking and strengthens her legacy.

“Devices and Desires” maintains its hearty texture until the ending pages, truly solidifying who Bess was as a woman and her impact on those around her/descendents. There is a sense of finality and strong memory with the conclusion of “Devices and Desires”.

Hubbard supplements “Devices and Desires” with not one but two sections of color photo plates. A bibliography and Notes section are also included although, sadly, the notes are not annotated.

“Devices and Desires” is slightly clunky, disjointed, and lacks a smooth streamline and yet intrigues with its content encompassing Bess of Hardwick and Tudor/Elizabethan England architecture. Although perhaps not perfect; Hubbard’s text is unique and stands on its own merits. “Devices and Desires” is suggested for all readers interested in this period of English history, architecture, and Bess of Hardwick.

[CLM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a link to the review:

https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/20...

Bonus - if you read Too Near The Throne by Molly Costain Haycraft as a teen, this book is about Arbella's grandmother

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is mostly about house building and the mostly men who built houses during this period. A bit about Bess but bare bones info.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very well done.
Exceptionally well researched.
The only issue for me is the focus on building. Too many lists of stuff I just can't bring myself to care about.
At the same time building was a huge part of who Bess was and an interesting way to look at her life.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good 75% of the book is dedicated to the intricacies of funding and building Hardwick House and Chatsworth. The story of Bess is more interesting as is her involvement in “babysitting” Mary Queen of Scots for many years. She was a woman who amassed a great fortune by purchasing neighboring estates. If the intricacies of hiring, paying, supervising a huge household interest you, read on as I suspect much of the story is based on her accounting records. Much of the book a total slog. Wikipedia might be the better choice. Extra star given for research into the intricacies of life at this time - a very dangerous time - especially for the elites who had to navigate it carefully.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of my complaints are typical of books like this: it’s about a woman AND an event/movement/time period. So Bess became less important than the architecture changes in Elizabethan England, and while a decent chunk of the book was dedicated to her, I had to suffer through a chapter on Mary Queen of Scots, pages and pages about Lord This and Earl That and their Castles, as well as endless info about who got how much money when and if there was a legal battle about it. It was extremely informative, but ultimately, very dry and extremely confusing concerning people who weren’t either Bess, the Queen, or major political players/nobles of the time

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book very hard to follow, and I was not terribly interested in the details it was providing. I don't think the people featured in it were well-differentiated, and there was a lot of minutiae about the lives of the English nobility during this tumultuous time.

It might be interesting for people who really like English / royal history.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: This book was full of fascinating information, but the surprisingly heavy focus on architecture meant it was sometimes dry anyway.

"Aided by a quartet of judicious marriages and a shrewd head for business, Bess of Hardwick rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most respected and feared Countesses in Elizabethan England—an entrepreneur who built a family fortune, created glorious houses—the last and greatest built as a widow in the 70s—and was deeply involved in matters of the court, including the custody of Mary Queen of Scots." (source)

There was a lot to love about this book! What drew me to it is the focus on a woman who had power and influence during a time period when that was a rarity. The author definitely delivered on that promise. She did a great job providing the context that showed why Bess's achievements were so impressive. Morality and conduct guides at the time specified pretty explicitly that women were supposed to be subservient (gross!). Women were also not officially allowed to own property, so it was fun to see the loopholes Bess exploited to end up with property and income she controlled.

I also appreciated that the author highlighted some other impressive women. She noted that many other women upper class women were more educated than Bess. It was also not unusual for wives to manage property that technically belonged to their husband. Bess did clearly have a particular talent for accumulating property and a strong interest in architecture. But she was not unique, not someone the author was portraying as 'not like other girls'. Rather, she was one of a few women who managed to defy social constraints in particular ways.

The author generally treated Bess's character in a nuanced way. She uses letters to show when romance and/or pragmatism are likely to have played a role in Bess's marriages. She let us see Bess at her best and at her worst, judging for ourselves when she was controlling or protective; loving or distant; harsh or simply willing to stand up for herself. The author managed all this without ever hitting us over the head with a feminist message (*coughWhenWomenRuledTheWorldcough*). In fact, when I describe this book as a feminist, I really just mean two things. First, the author acknowledged they way sexist constrains on women shaped Bess's world. And second, she treated Bess just like any other character, showing the full complexity of her personality.

In addition, the author had a lot of interesting material to work with here. There were family feuds! Court battles! An imprisoned queen! Even a suspected poisoning! These parts of the story were as exciting as you would expect. Through primary sources, the author managed to make these events feel immediate and personal. I also enjoyed learning about the daily lives of Bess, her family, and the people who worked for them. Personally, I found even information drawn from grocery lists enjoyable. Likewise, architectural details and the houses people were building were interesting to me as long as they shed some light on how people lived at the time.

Unfortunately, this brings me to the reason I'm only giving this book three stars, despite having so many positive things to say about. So much of this book was architectural details! We also often got lists of names of people who were building houses; who were socializing with Bess; or who were building one of her houses. When the details of a building or the lists of names weren't connected to how people lived their lives, I didn't care about them. They made parts of this book into very dry reading material. It's possible I should have anticipated the focus on building a little more, given the subtitle. However, building is only mentioned once in the description, so I was not prepared for detailed descriptions of the home of people only tangentially related to our story.

In some places, the author does impressive work making quotidian details of Bess's life interesting. I debated giving this book a higher rating because I do think it's worth reading. It contains fascinating information I'd not learned anywhere else. At the end of the day, though, my rating primarily reflects how much I enjoyed reading a book and this one wasn't always a fun read. I do recommend it though, if the topic is of interest to you - and especially if you're interested in architecture as well!This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book by Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review.

Today's post is on Devices and Desires: Bess of Harkwick and the Building of Elizabethan England by Kate Hubbard. it is 384 pages long including notes and is published by Harper Collins. The intended reader is someone who likes Elizabethan history and architecture. There is mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The cover is dark red with Elizabeth Shrewbury monogram in the center. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The critically acclaimed author of Serving Victoria brilliantly illuminates the life of the little-known Bess of Hardwick—next to Queen Elizabeth I, the richest and most powerful woman in sixteenth-century England.
Aided by a quartet of judicious marriages and a shrewd head for business, Bess of Hardwick rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most respected and feared Countesses in Elizabethan England—an entrepreneur who built a family fortune, created glorious houses—the last and greatest built as a widow in the 70s—and was deeply involved in matters of the court, including the custody of Mary Queen of Scots.
While Bess cultivated many influential courtiers, she also collected numerous enemies. Her embittered fourth husband once called her a woman of “devices and desires,” while nineteenth-century male historians portrayed her as a monster—”a woman of masculine understanding and conduct, proud, furious, selfish and unfeeling.” In the twenty-first century she has been neutered by female historians who recast her as a soft-hearted sort, much maligned, and misunderstood. As Kate Hubbard reveals, the truth of this highly accomplished woman lies somewhere in between: ruthless and scheming, Bess was sentimental and affectionate as well.
Hubbard draws on more than 230 of Bess’s letters, including correspondence with the Queen and her councilors, fond (and furious) missives between her husbands and children, and notes sharing titillating court gossip. The result is a rich, compelling portrait of a true feminist icon centuries ahead of her time—a complex, formidable, and decidedly modern woman captured in full as never before.


Review- An interesting history of both a woman and a building but at times can very hard to stay engaged with. Hubbard gives the reader an in dept look into the life of a woman who to controlled her own life and her money in a time when that was hard to do so. Starting at her birth, the reader follow Bess of Hardwick through her marriages, children, scandals, and her buildings. She had a passion for buildings and how they were made, she wanted to have something just for herself and no man had control of it. She lived during some very tumultuous times but she survived and worked to make the best of whatever situation she found herself in from deaths of children to caring for Mary, Queen of Scots for years. With the building of Chatsworth always in the background of her life, Bess worked to make something that would stand forever, it possible. Lots of details, lots of people, and lots of buildings are talked about in this book, so keep that in mind if you give this one a read.

I give this book a Three out of Five stars.

[Sarah Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins.

Bess of Hardwick (1527-1608), was born into relatively humble origins but thanks to a series of advantageous marriages, died the Countess of Shrewsbury with extensive wealth, estates, and homes of her own. A contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I, Bess of Hardwick is fascinating because she was a self-made woman who used her widowhood and head for business to amass a fortune and arrange marriages for her children and grandchildren that has kept her bloodline intact in British aristocracy to this day.

While I have read another biography about Bess of Hardwick (one expertly penned by Mary S. Lovell), this biography distinguished itself by attempting "to examine Bess's life as a builder within the context of the Elizabethan building world, dominated as it was by men" (xxiv). This was an interesting and relevant perspective, as Bess spent copious amounts of her time and energy towards designing, building, and furnishing multiple great houses, including of course Hardwick. Indeed, it was her devotion to building, specifically her house at Chatsworth, that was a source of great contention between Bess and her fourth husband, who resented the time Bess spent at Chatsworth away from him, as well as the massive sums required to pay for laborers and furnishings of the new house. Conveniently, just like her first three husbands, Bess outlived his discontent and spent the remainder of her years a powerful dowager countess, with the lands and money to do as she wished.

Bess is fascinating because unlike many women of her day whose names are still known to us, she did not earn her position simply by birth or lineage or simply by marriage but largely through her own shrewd decision making and head for business, even when it came to the choices she made in remarriage after being widowed. She was canny and could be ruthless but she was also affectionate and devoted to those she loved. From one of several daughters from a modest family who lost her father at a young age, Bess moved up to be one of the most prominent and highest ranking women in her country by her death. Today, her legacy continues; "there is hardly an English duke who doesn't have Bess's blood running in his veins: descended from her, directly and indirectly, are the Dukes of Devonshire (Bess's great-great-grandson William Cavendish, 4th Earl of Devonshire, become 1st Duke in 1695), Newcastle, Portland, Kingston and Norfolk. This is her first achievement. But so too is her visible memorial, her greatest and only surviving house, Hardwick" (298).

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to rate this book? Primary sources are always worth a few stars, and add using said sources well adds a couple more; speculating about what happened because no primary sources are available and then writing passages about historical figures using words like ‘probably, maybe, perhaps’ losing as many stars. For this reviewer though, the promise of a book on the building of Chatsworth, Hardwick and etc., was undelivered. Stick to the “Building of Elizabethan England” that Bess had immediate impact on and keep the book to 150 or 200 pages. Seriously, a four-times married woman (from whom there “is hardly an English duke who doesn’t have Bess’s blood running in his viens”) is known through history by the name of her paternal estate---because of the building she constructed there. What was disturbing, was that Hubbard assigned a 16th century equivalent to an architect to the building of the house, with no definitive proof. Compelling evidence, needs further documentation.
Coverage of Bess of Hardwick, her family (including biological family and step-family) was done well and if not thoroughly, consistently. Bess was an active player within her own extensive family and at Court for many years and including all her machinations would have been difficult. As a biography, this was a well-documented introduction to the incredible Bess of Hardwick. This reviewer enjoyed the text and would have done so even more if Hubbard had stuck to the premise of the buildings and eliminated speculative writing.

[Sandra Wagner-Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devices and Desires (2019) by Kate Hubbard is non-fiction biography that takes Bess of Hardwick as its subject. Bess isn’t too good about sharing her thoughts, but meticulous in her accounts and frequent in correspondence. She was a consummate builder. Among her projects was the first iteration of Chatsworth House. And she outlived four husbands, each of whom lifted her further up the social scale until Bess was a confident of Queen Elizabeth I and one of the wealthiest women in England.
Building projects were Bess’s true passion, particularly Chatsworth House which she began with her second marriage to William Cavendish and continued with funding from her third and fourth husbands. In her discussion of Bess’s projects, Hubbard’s attention diverts to architecture, construction practices, and the men who created great houses of the Elizabethan era.
Bess left details of daily life in these lavish houses. At Hardwick in the 1590s, Bess wrote about the sale of cattle and sheep, the blue cloth she bought to make livery, the oysters sent by her son-in-law, the herrings purchased from Hull. The detail is fascinatin.
Filled with detail of society, marriage politics, domestic arrangements, Devices and Desires is an engaging read, but as non-fiction it can’t lift the people out of their of their documents.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at a woman who held her own (and more) during a period in history where women were more or less the property of the men in their lives whether father or husband. Bess of Hardwick was married four times, outliving all her husbands and moving up socially and financially with each succeeding marriage ending up as Countess of Shrewsbury. But more than this, she was able to compete with the males of her time in money management (yes she inherited but she also made it grow, ending up one of the richest people in the Elizabethan period); in the widespread tradition and desire of the time to build ever bigger and involved homes and other structures (she was directly involved in the design, construction, and decoration of various homes including Chatsworth, Old and New Hardwick Halls, and more). The great value of this book may lie in the details, not only the building but things like the importance of cloth and embroidered tapestries in the decoration of homes of the period; and the background to her and her fourth husband's involvement with Mary Queen of Scotland during her custody in England and up to her execution. I enjoyed the book, though it may be too detailed and somewhat dry for all readers. But worth the effort.

[Marjorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book contained a lot of interesting information, and aimed to give a balanced view of Bess of Hardwick. It’s clear that a lot of research has gone into it, and the subject matter is fascinating.

However, I found that it was somewhat patchy - the level of prior knowledge assumed to be held by the reader seems to vary.

The book focuses on Bess and her building works, rather than on wider historical and political issues. This is fair enough- it is after all clear from the title and blurb, but given that focus, and the fact that major political events are, as a result, often reduced to a passing mention or footnote, it can feel a little dull at times, and means that it can be hard to put some of the events in Bess’s life, and her actions and those of her family, into context.

Over all, while I found the book interesting, I didn’t enjoy it or find it as informative as I had hoped.

[John Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One cannot read Tudor history without bumping into Bess of Hardwick (Countess of Shrewsbury, among others) fairly often. She was a powerhouse in an era when to be a powerful woman was decidedly not on the cards (except possibly on the Throne.) But as fascinating as Bess is, she has been tangential in others’ biographies. Here, finally, is a history of Bess, with an emphasis on her near compulsion to build stately homes to rival and outdo most of her contemporaries. The Elizabethans built A LOT. She’s a tough cookie and I really enjoyed this, even if I did tire a bit of the architectural. But to be fair, that’s the focus of the book, so who am I to complain? Really enjoyed this.
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2022 📚 22

[Mike Shoop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable, well researched bio of the celebrated Bess of Hardwick. Hubbard has written with a focus on the building projects Bess did in Derbyshire at Chatsworth, Hardwick Hall, Owlcotes, etc., as well as other great building projects that were going on at the same time in other areas of late 16th century England: Longleat, Wollaton, Theobalds, etc. Bess, who through four marriages, smart business dealings, and determination, became a wealthy and powerful countess who built glorious houses, arranged advantageous marriages for her family, protected her estates, fought many legal battles, survived scandal, and who was second only to Queen Elizabeth in terms of her wealth and accomplishments. A brilliant personality, multi-talented, fearsome, caring, and strong-willed; a satisfying narrative of her fascinating life.

[Laurel Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought it on a whim but it is absolutely brilliant. Sure there are biases towards Bess of Hardwick but it is about her endeavours and both Mary, Queen of Scots and Arbella are guests in her life story, as is Elizabeth I.

I have annotated this book to death and the preservation of Tudor/Elizabethan vernacular via descriptions and letters is fascinating. While I don’t expect anyone in this time period was particularly pleasant when trying to claw their way up the social ladder (we’re not always nice all the time either), I do highly recommend the book. There are connections between other prominent members of society that would come as a surprise.

[Donie Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed a different look at one of my favorite historical subjects: Bess of Hardwick, whose humble beginnings could have consigned her to anonymity in Elizabethean England. Instead, Bess took full advantage of every opportunity to marry well and acquire the income necessary to become one of the significant "builders" of her day. This book looks at her life through the prism of the grand houses she built.

[Aishuu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those histories where household accounts are used a lot to help flesh out the lifestyle/events... the real sources are scant, so we get treated to lists and lists of stupid things that imply certain status levels/activities. The really interesting events (like the attempted poisoning!) aren't really given much detail because the historian lacks sources. So yay for historical scholarship, but this is a dead-dull read.

[Bookwoman67 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh the houses! What I wanted to read was a biography of Bess of Hardwick, who married four times and was the jailer of Mary, Queen of Scots for Queen Elizabeth. Although some of that is in the book, it is buried by reams of information about Tudor house building.

As a historian, I know you have to use the sources that exist, but a shorter book with fewer deep dives into architecture might have been better. (Not that I dislike architecture per se, but not what this book was pitched as.)

[Catherine Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book when Bess is coming into her own and then when she is forced into the rotten situation as Mary Queen of Scots' host/jailer. But once Shrewsbury was dead, the book kind of lost my interest. I gave up with about 50 pages to go. But it has inspired me to read something about Mary. If anyone has a good recommendation -- either nonfiction or fiction -- let me know. There certainly are a lot of choices!

[Fern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had not really heard of Bess before and this was an eye opening look at another Elizabethan woman who made her own way. But there’s a lot of laundry lists in the book: accounts of purchases and mundane letters which Hubbard being a dutiful historian hews closely to. But would have liked some more insights into the woman and her motivations.

[Andrea Engle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging biography of Bess of Hardwick, a powerful matriarch of Elizabethan England. ... exceptionally long-lived, Bess outlived four husbands, erected several houses (notably Hardwick Hall and Chatsworth), and amassed a large estate, being a very good business-woman, especially for that day and age ...

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so confused about the people who complain in their reviews about the book being so much about buildings. It literally says in the subtitle ‘Bess of Hardwick and the building of Elizabethan England’. For fuck’s sake people, read the subtitles.

Excellent, excellent text about the period and one of the most powerful women in that time. Review to come.

[Zoe Radley]

Bored bored bored... sorry but I thought this was about Bess and her architectural achievements. Nope it’s really about how the author gets off on other people’s hard work with a few mentions now and again of Bess just to remind you that that’s who she is supposed to write about. Cannot finish this.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible. I enjoyed the book and learning more about Bess of Hardwick. The book focused more on building and architecture which I wasn't expecting--I guess I should have paid more attention to the title :). I visited Chatsworth last October--now I want to go back and visit more of the area.

[Ember · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled part-way through this book but didn't find the author's voice captivating in the way that I find other authors of historical narrative. It had way too much about literal buildings, which could've been interesting if the way it was presented wasn't so dry.
If you're after a book on Bess, Mary S Lovell's book comes recommended.

[Mandy J · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a woman Bess was! From humble beginnings she married 4 times, was a shrewd businesswoman and amassed a great wealth in a time when women were not able to do this. She acquired houses as well as building them, becoming what we would call today a project manager as well as designer. She was also the guardian of Mary Queen of Scots. I like this woman.

[Gayla Bassham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a bit more about house-building than I really wanted, but still a fascinating look at one of the lesser known Tudor figures (and one of the jailers of Mary, Queen of Scots). Bess of Hardwick comes to life as an incredibly complicated and ambitious woman.

[Bsldavio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonfiction-history