Rule #10: Lean in

Bess of Hardwick (1527–1608) was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in England. Both Queen Elizabeth and her rival and cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, treated her with admiration and suspicion. Bess was a natural businesswoman whose four marriages, keen accounting skills, and portfolio of properties allowed her to survive the queen’s occasional displeasure, build two lavish houses (Chatsworth and Hardwick New Hall), and secure strategic marriages for her children.

“Good Bess”: Letter from her second husband

Three years after the death of her teenage first husband, Bess married Sir William Cavendish in 1547. Cavendish addresses her as “Good Bess” and reminds her to pay the bill for “oats that we have bought.” This power couple bought the Chatsworth estate in 1549 and began building a lavish new house on the property in 1552. Cavendish died in 1557, leaving Bess a widow once again.

“My honest sweet Chatsworth”: Letter from her third husband

Bess married her third husband, Sir William St. Loe (the queen’s captain of the guard), in 1559. He addresses her as “My honest sweet Chatsworth,” referring to her involvement in the all-consuming renovations of one of her principal estates. In this letter, he describes a conversation he had with the queen. Bess inherited St. Loe’s fortune when he died in 1565.

“My own sweet heart”: Letter from her fourth husband

Bess married George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, in 1567. To further consolidate their power and wealth, two of her children from a previous marriage married two of his children from a previous marriage in a double wedding in 1568. He addresses her as “My own sweet heart” and writes of his resolve to keep “the gout” from damaging his health. By 1584, their marriage had broken down, despite the efforts of the queen to reconcile them. Shrewsbury died in 1590.

The CFO of her estates

Bess kept close tabs on household expenses, down to the penny. She began this account book when she was just 21 years old and married to her second husband. These pages show the usual purchases of food, fabrics, clothing, and payment of workmen’s bills and wages, as well as money given to “a poor man” and a coral teething toy for her newborn daughter Frances.