| Title | : | My Just Desire: The Life of Bess Raleigh, Wife to Sir Walter |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0345452909 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780345452900 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 292 |
| Publication | : | First published August 26, 2003 |
Writing with grace and drama, Anna Beer brings Bess to life as a woman, a wife and mother, an intimate friend of poets and courtiers, and a skilled political infighter in Europe’s most powerful and most dangerous court. The only daughter of an ambitious aristocratic family, Bess was thrust at a tender age into the very epicenter of royal power when her parents secured her the position of Elizabeth’s Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber. Bess proved to be a natural player on this stage of extravagant mythmaking and covert sexual politics, until she fell in love with the Queen’s Captain of the Guard, the handsome, virile, meteorically rising Ralegh. But their secret marriage, swiftly followed by the birth of their son, would have grave consequences for both of them.
Brooking the Queen’s wrath and her husband’s refusal to acknowledge their marriage, Bess brilliantly stage-managed her social and political rehabilitation and emerged from prison as the leader of a brilliant, fast-living aristocratic set. She survived personal tragedy, the ruinous global voyages launched by her husband, and the vicious plots of high-placed enemies. Though Raleigh in the end fell afoul of court intrigue, Bess lived on into the reign of James I as a woman of hard-won wisdom and formidable power.
With compelling historical insight, Anna Beer recreates here the vibrant pageant of Elizabethan England—the brilliant wit and vicious betrayals, the new discoveries and old rivalries, the violence and fierce sexuality of life at court. Peopled by poets and princes, spanning the reigns of two monarchs, moving between the palaces of London and the manor house outside the capital, My Just Desire is the portrait of a remarkable woman who lived at the center of an extraordinary time.
My Just Desire: The Life of Bess Raleigh, Wife to Sir Walter Reviews
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Elizabeth Throckmorton was lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I when she and Walter Raleigh secretly conceived a child and married. Elizabeth (or Bess) delivered her baby in secret, then returned to court as though nothing had happened. She kept up her facade of perfect virginal loyalty toward her queen, and Raleigh kept up his courtly promises of devotion to the queen, until abruptly they were banished from court and thrown in the Tower of London. Eventually they were released. Raleigh continued to lead men against the Spanish in search of treasure, while Bess worked to improve his reputation and political connections in the English court. Unfortunately, Raleigh's missions were largely unsuccessful (in fact, he managed to not only nearly start a war with Spain, but also got his second son, Wat, killed), and he had acquired many powerful enemies. Robert Cecil had once been his ally, but he turned James I against him, and Raleigh was thrown in the Tower on trumped up charges of Treason. Bess, meanwhile, petitioned, released propaganda, and began legal battles in the hope of freeing her husband--or at least, saving his life. Despite her efforts, he was executed, leaving Bess the widowed mother of a young boy.
All legal and financial matters had to be handled by men, so in order to do any little thing Bess had to petition her brothers or male friends to do it for her. Despite this sizable handicap, she won a good many of her legal battles (she was quite litigiuous!) and was probably a prime reason her husband's reputation was revitalized and gilded after his death.
Beer is fiercely partisan to Bess Raleigh, and is loud in her frustation that Walter Raleigh scholars so often discount or misjudge her. And to her credit, it seems that many of their mistaken impressions are due to laziness on their part--she has managed to dig up a great many tiny clues that, taken together, paint a much more detailed picture of Bess than ever before. But in her zeal to reveal Bess's character and life, I think Beer also overstates her case, and other historians' biases, a few times. Regardless, her sarcastic asides add zing to a book that might otherwise be too dense with quotations and citations. -
Solid biography of Bess Raleigh and more political than I expected from the title. Drawing largely on personal letters, legal documents, and financial papers from the period, the author does an excellent job of focusing on Bess Raleigh, NOT just as "the wife of Sir Walter Raleigh" but as a political figure in her own right - although she certainly doesn't sugarcoat the subordinate legal position of wives in 16th/17th C England. Obviously, there is a decent amount of information about her husband here, but this book is clearly about the woman herself. In some areas, the author goes into a certain amount of speculation, but nothing that can't reasonably be supported by extant records.
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3.5 stars. Very detailed "non-fiction" biography of Bess Ralegh, Sir Walter Ralegh's (Raleigh) wife. What a woman!! She saved his bacon so many times and has hardly even been heard of! Wonderful detail of Elizabethan times...have you ever heard of "churching"? This is a ceremony of thanksgiving for the safe delivery of the mother which would take place about 4 weeks after the birth. It was a big party to celebrate the woman's status as a mother and her own thanksgiving for surviving childbirth. Interesting read with pictures but not for the person who isn't super interested in the high drama of the late 1500's thru the early 1600's England. Hats off to the author for the unbelievable research it would have taken to write this book.
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This summer while visiting Coughton Court, I heard the story of how Bess Raleigh used to carry her husband Walter's embalmed head around with her in a red silk bag. Figuring there must be a good story there, I found this biography of Bess. She was a remarkable woman for her time, moving in the highest circles at court and she found ways to refill the family coffers every time they went dry. Walter doesn't fair as well, Bess seems far stronger than he was, especially in the final years of his life. The book also contains some interesting sociological information about the time as well as interesting insights into Elizabeth and James' courts. While the author did include the story about the head, no real explanation was offered.
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I found this book to be a bit confusing; but, I think Beer did an admirable job of conveying just how amazing Bess Raleigh was during a time that was difficult for women in general and even more difficult for her in particular.
My Just Desire was interesting and informative. I was unable to put the book down until after I finished reading it.
Highly Recommended. -
In this illuminating biography, author Anna Beer sheds light on a much lesser known Ralegh: the wife of Sir Walter. From a wealthy and aristocratic family that helped secure her position as Queen Elizabeth's Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, she entered into a secret love affair with the Queen's Captain of the Guard, the rising Ralegh. When she became pregnant, they secretly married without the queen's permission and faced her wrath and were eventually imprisoned. With time, social grace, and her family connections, Bess meticulously rehabilitated her family's position and image.
Beer does not paint Ralegh in the most flattering of lights as a husband. Indeed, he refused to acknowledge his marriage to Bess for some time and does not mention her in letters for three years after their marriage. Like many women of the time period, many personal details about Bess have been lost to history. However, many of her letters remain, revealing many of her thoughts, movements, and business dealings.
One of my biggest complaints about this book were lack of key details about Ralegh himself. Although a biography about his wife, her life was inextricably tied to his. Having never read a book about Walter Ralegh before, I was hoping this book would fill me in. Yet Beer assumes her readers know about the various expeditions, social missteps and hot headed decisions made by Ralegh. In retrospect, I do wish I had read a biography about him before reading one about Bess.
After Raleigh's death, Bess lived to a great age. While the book didn't spend as much time on this period of her life, it was interesting to see that she continued to persevere to serve her family, namely her sole surviving son. Bess comes across as an educated, wealthy woman who managed to do something few in her position did at the time - marry for love and passion. While it is unclear whether that love persisted through her marriage, there's was ultimately a successful partnership, almost solely thanks to Bess' dogged commitment to her husband and family. -
A biography that focuses on Bess Throckmorton more than her well known husband, which is something of an achievement given how little material appears to remain about her. Walter himself scarcely acknowledges her until he falls out of favour at court, but she was indefatigable finding support for him while trying to carve out a life and way of living that she felt was commensurate to her status. Fascinating read about how she and other women of the time were pawns in the political games of the men of the time, yet she fought so hard (sometimes spuriously) to hold her end.
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I guess I've become a fan of historical fiction over biography. This very well documented biography was too scholarly to keep my attention. This interesting woman lived in an interesting time surrounded by interesting people; however, I probably could have learned as much from reading her entry in the Encylopedia Britanica and saved lots of time.
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A solid well researched account of the life of one of the most intelligent and shrewd women of the Elizabethan era. I may well be biased as She is an ancestor of mine so was very keen to read of her life.
This is not only factual, it is witty and wry in its style and paints a balanced portrait of such a feisty woman. -
What a remarkable woman. Full review to come.
+++++++++++
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I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from the publisher, Endeavour Press.
First and foremost, this book made me want to punch Ralegh in the face. It took him how long into their marriage to see Bess as an asset? What a tool. But of course she could not just divorce him, nor did she want to because she loved him, but good lord. He was just a raging d-bag much of the time. I was particularly incensed when he was released from The Tower and Bess was left prisoner, with their young child - who succumbed to the plague that was ravaging the city. How sad for Bess that not only was she still locked away and her husband was off ignoring her and their marriage, but to lose a child.
While on the subject of Bess and her first child, this text served to reaffirm my general disdain for Elizabeth: "It was, however, no coincidence that Bess and her baby were left in plague-ridden London" (27%). Time and again Elizabeth is spoiled and manipulative. And as always, there is the glossing-over of her role in the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. It was not just "counselors giving orders, and the execution being carried out". Elizabeth knew exactly what she was doing when she signed the warrant. She knew it would be carried out and I do not believe for one moment that she felt bad about it.
But, back to Bess. She on the other hand, turned out to be quite a remarkable woman who endured much hardship throughout her lifetimes in order to provide for her family. She had no choice, after all, seeing as how her husband was absent much of the time on ill-fated adventures, chasing myths. Walter has the nerve to be all pissed off about Bess supposedly ruining his career with their marriage, yet I am pretty sure he had a part in it...or it would not have been a marriage. To him I would say, Man up, Buttercup. Luckily it seems as though he came to value her more and more as their marriage went on, through his terrible decision-making, and in the end she would be the one to promote her husband's legacy. Much of the time I felt sorry for Bess, thinking how sad and lonely it must have been to have had a husband who was off gallivanting around, wasting the Queen's money and drawing her ire more often than not. But luckily there is plenty of evidence to show what Bess' life was like and with a full household, she really could not have been lonely very often. Especially early on in the marriage, it is of comfort to know that Bess had her brother and family and household to support her, even as her husband still did not publicly even acknowledge the marriage despite having been married a few years.
The author does as well a job as she can in bringing Bess to life. The story is quite detailed in some aspects, but there are several occasions though where it felt like this was just as much a biography of her husband and the times as it was of Bess. This is to be expected and the author can not be faulted, as it would be more unusual for us to have heaps of information about any woman who was not a ruler or very near the top of the social ladder. This aspect is important, I think, for us to understand who Bess was and how she became a strong, shrewd businesswoman/lawyer, so to speak. It felt like early on, Bess and Walter's stories were almost separate, as they themselves were physically so far apart at times. But gradually their stories came together, especially in those later years when Walter was spending more and more of his time being a prisoner instead of an explorer.
Some of Bess' letters survive, as do many of Walter's and - surprise, surprise - he rarely, if ever, mentions his wife until later, when he came to rely on her quite heavily. To be honest, overall I really just found that Walter Ralegh was kind of a douchenozzle at first. I realize douchenozzle is not a very professional term, but I was just so angry at him for most of the book. Don't get me wrong, there are some questionable decisions Bess made at various points in her life as well, but if he really felt Bess was a hindrance to him (and he KNEW Elizabeth was a giant baby who would have a fit when she discovered his marriage), then why did he never seek a divorce? If he had ever considered it, I am sure that by the end of his life he was glad he did not, as Bess never stopped working for him, to keep her family together and to regain the family inheritance for their only surviving son, Carew.
In the end, we do not actually know how or when the life of this incredibly strong, remarkable woman came to a close. I find this unsurprising, albeit sad. She survived her husband's execution and told his story, built up his legacy. But when Bess passed, there was no one to do so for her. Luckily for us, the author made wonderful use of surviving letters, documents, court papers, and such so we can have a more full portrait of an unusual woman in dangerous times. Highly recommended. -
The first half felt thin, but there's lots of detail on the later years, and it becomes an interesting look at what it meant to be a woman fighting for financial rights.
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This was a book I'd been tempted to buy as it was just 99p and I was in the mood for some history. I hadn't been aware of Lady Ralegh's existence and had no preconceptions about her. I can't say the book convinced me that we should know all about her though, towards the end, she did grow on me.
The opening chapter I found a bit garbled; too many players dumped on the stage at once. Lady Ralegh - or Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of many ladies-in-waiting to Elizabeth I, as she was - seemed lost in the mêlée. At this point I really wanted to know why I needed to read this book. I mean, who was she? Thankfully, from the second chapter on, things become more ordered.
Still, much of her life is gained indirectly from accounts and letters of more prominent people around her. It's as much the story of her husband, her brothers, and their male friends and acquaintances as it is Lady Ralegh's. This is a reflection of the lower esteem and legal bearing women had in this period; they were largely irrelevant, their politics ignored, and much of their writing lost. Nevertheless, piecing together what could be found, Anna Beer has done a credible job of making her a strong, tenacious and intelligent woman of her time. She also had charmingly atrocious spelling, even accounting for the differences between spelling then and now.
Besides this, I came away with a profound sense of how arbitrary, corrupt and cruel justice was in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. A reputation and its accompanying privileges could turn on a sixpence if you fell out of favour. The book ends with a transcript of Walter's letter to his wife, from the Tower, supposedly on the eve of his execution (he was on this occasion reprieved on the day). It makes for a memorable finish. -
While the title sounds romantic, it's strictly business. It's taken from letter written by Bess Raleigh and it is fully characteristic of the style she used to obtain and re-obtain pensions, property, status and favors lost by the alleged treason of her husband.
Bess has not been developed by other writers and biographers of this period, but she is definitely worthy of more study. Beer portrays the young Bess as being aware of the value of a relationship with Raleigh and willing to take risks to be in his orbit; This is a cunning Bess who would have been aware of the consequences and potential benefits of consummating her flirtation with one of Queen Elizabeth's favorites. The late date of the marriage (well into the pregnancy) shows Raleigh's hesitancy to marry her and also signals her first negotiating success.
While she had "won" a wealthy man, her status and luxurious life did not last long. She spent most of her married life working on recovering the losses resulting from Raleigh's alleged treason. Beer shows how Bess was very successful in a system that disinherits women and restricts their access to power.
Since Bess has been covered as only a Queen's attendant and spouse, there was a lot of detective work for Beer. She is careful to show what is known and to point out the gaps in the record. New material continues to be found, perhaps more pieces to this puzzle will fall into place.
I highly recommend this for readers of Tudor and Stewart years, as well as another biography by "Beer: Milton: Poet, Pamphleteer, and Patriot". -
Though I have read quite a bit of Tudor history, I was not aware of Bess Raleigh and all that the Raleigh family went through in the later years of Elizabeth I's reign and the beginning of James I's reign. I knew a bit about them from previous reading and learned even more about them on a visit to the Tower of London a few months ago, but this book really helped me understand this couple and their place in history.
Short summary: Bess is a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth I. Sir Walter Raleigh is the aging queen's favorite. Walter and Bess have a secret love affair which leads to a pregnancy and a secret wedding. When the Queen finds out about this, she has them both arrested in a jealous rage. What follows over the next 40 years is the couple falling in and out of favor (and in and out of imprisonment), treasonous plots, rivals who will stop at nothing to bring down the couple, and some really stupid get rich quick schemes on the part of Sir Walter, ending in Sir Walter being parted from his head...eventually.
Bess' story is fascinating, especially in a world where women had no legal or financial standing. She fights for her family, her sons' inheritance, and for what is hers in the world. Though her marriage to Raleigh was probably more politically than romantically inspired, she stands by her man through everything, including giving birth to their second son in the Tower. Fascinating read about a fascinating, though not well-known, woman in history. -
I love the Tudor era and learning about people from that era. It's such an interesting time in English history and Bess Raleigh was a really interesting woman. The biography never got dull and while I skipped around chapters, sometimes going several forward and sometimes going several back, I feel like I have a good idea of what Bess was like and that she too was a woman with desires and passions and loves just like me.
That's why I love biographies. They take people from history and make them real people again. -
Bess Throckmorton was one of Elizabeth I's ladies who fell out of favour with the monarch when she secretly got knocked up and then wed Sir Walter Raleigh, Elizabeth's 'dear pug'. This biography tracks Bess' life from childhood through marriage and right to her demise. As history is so often decided upon by men, it's always good to see things from the point of view of the women who were there. It's just a shame that in a lot of cases, very little survives in the way of official records. Beer seems to have found enough to write a decent bio of the explorer's wife.
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The night I arrived I set myself to finishing this biography given to me by a dear friend of mine (thanks Abigail!) Very well researched, I thought the author did a great job with the limited information available to her. This book, if nothing else, really drove home just how few primary sources there are to work with when researching women, especially before and during the Renaissance. I won’t say this book is the best written biography ever, but the author knows her stuff, and as a fan of Ralegh and his contemporaries, I enjoyed it. 4 stars.
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I am into British Royalty since I read the Other Boleyn Girl....
This was very good and very fascinating...Bess Raleigh was a woman WAY before her time and it's always a good reminder as a woman to ponder the struggles of previous generations. However, despite the era, some things never change. At least we don't have to worry about the scaffold anymore!! -
For those deeply into Tudor/Stuart history. Theres a lot of complex family connections described, which would only interest some. And the book definitely assumes a deep knowledge of the period.
Enjoyed it, but not exactly a rollicking yarn. -
A good read
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A fascinating read about a woman who is usually just a footnote in historical biographies. I highly recommend this book for any one who enjoys history.
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A quintessential history on Bess Throckmorton, an extremely resourceful and brave noble woman who survived many hardships and trials during the Elizabethan Age.
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This biography of Bess Ralegh, wife to Sir Walter Ralegh is a must read for any woman who thinks her husband is difficult.
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Well written and researched.
