Venus in winter by Gillian Bagwell

At the age of twelve, Bess of Hardwick is sent away from home to serve in Lady Zouche’s household. When Lady Zouche goes to Henry VIII’s court as a lady in waiting to his fourth wife Anne Of Cleves, Bess witnesses first hard what it’s like to be out of favour with the king. She later joins Frances Grey’s service and gets close to her eldest daughter Jane.

Bess of Hardwick is one of those formidable women of the Tudor era. She was of relatively low birth, but got married four times. She rose higher and higher in rank by every marriage ending up countess of Shrewsbury. She even became guardian to Mary Queen of Scots and her granddaughter Arabella Stuart was a possible candidate for the English throne. Bess was also one of the richest landowners of her time and won serious court cases on a number of occasions. After the death of her fourth husband, she built the majestic Hardwick Hall which still stands tall today.

But this book focuses on her young life and her first three marriages whereof we don’t know as much. We see her rising in rank and gaining her lands and wealth. Bagwell places her in the household of Lady Zouche so that she can also spend some time at Henry VIII’s court – there is no evidence she was there so this is a bit of a guess.

But afterwards, we do follow the real events and experience Jane Grey’s story – with whom she really had a deep connection – up close. This book moves at a lightning pace past a lot of important events of the Tudor era. Four kings and queens are covered. So it’s a lot – especially as you also get through Bess’s four marriages.

The book stops abruptly at Bess’s fourth marriage. I found that a bit unfortunate because her most important achievements are yet to come. And also because it did not complete the story of Mary and Katherine Grey and of Mary, queen of Scots.

Throughout the book, we catch a glimpse of who this Bess of Hardwick was. She was known as a tough and shrewd lady, but here we get little insight into her character and internal motivations. I had hoped to get to know her more.

Bagwell certainly writes okay but does use a lot of rumour and gossip to update Bess on court life. In any case, this woman deserves more books. And Bagwell gives us a nice introduction to her young life.

So this isn’t the best book I’ve read, but it isn’t so bad as the reviews say. And if you want a new perspective on the Tudor court, Bess can certainly provide you with that.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Have you any recommendations on Bess of Hardwick? Or on the Tudor court in general?