Elizabeths Bedfellows: an Intimate History of the Queens Court Free

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Elizabeth I — has been the subject of many fictional representations, some as early as the s, speculating about her private life. Theatre plays, novels and later also films explored the allegations made against her during her life-time, such as suggestions that the Queen was infertile, that she was malformed, or in fact, a man or a hermaphrodite p. Other charges against the Queen regarded her sexuality: suggesting that she had not remained a regina intactabut had consumated her relationship with Robert Dudley, the Master of the Horse; that she was unmarried because of an extreme sexual appetite that could not be satisfied by only one man; and that she had had several illegitimate children. Such allegations have continued to inspire the question: was any of this gossip actually true? Scholarship on Elizabeth I gradually adopted the study of the Queen's private life alongside her politics. The book is highly accessible and is divided into 62 short chapters with ringing titles, such as 'Froggie Went A-Courtin' and 'In Defence of the Queen's Body'. Whitelock offers the reader intimate glimpses of a hidden world, revealing the secrets of the Queen's private body, such as her favourite recipe for 'toilet water' containing majoram p. The reader obtains insights into the practicalities of dress and bodily inconvenience, and learns Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court Elizabeth used 'vallopes of fine holland cloth [linen cloth]' and satin girdles with hooks to which to adjust the 'vallopes' for when she was menstruating p. Whitelock also draws attention to the Queen's strong demands on those serving her, expecting her welfare to go before their own at all times. For example, when Elizabeth continued to suffer from a painful toothache but refused to have the tooth drawn, John Aylmer, the Bishop of London, 'offered that one of his few remaining teeth might be extracted to reassure the Queen and encourage her to submit to a similar procedure' p. Another instance is Elizabeth's breaking Lady Mary Talbot's finger with a hairbrush in a fit of rage and later trying to blame the broken finger on an accident with a falling candlestick p. Furthermore, as Elizabeth lay in bed with smallpox, she was nursed through the height of her sickness by Lady Mary Sidney, whose selfless service was rewarded by her catching the disease herself and it disfiguring and Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court her face. Rather than showing gratitude to her loyal attendant, the Queen expressed distaste at Lady Sidney's disfigurement p. It is Whitelock's objective not only to give a behind-the-scenes insight into the Queen's personal life and beauty Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court, but rather to emphasise her political body, and to investigate how the image of this political body was constructed, guarded, and controlled by the Ladies of the Bedchamber. The book is chronological in structure, and opens with the first moment during which Elizabeth's body — and with that her reputation — was politicised: Lord Seymour's intrusions into the then princess's bedchamber. The reader is introduced to the princess's governess Kat Ashley, who is later to become the First Lady of the Bedchamber during Elizabeth's reign, and one of the most influential women at court. Kat Ashley is shown chasing Lord Seymour out of the bedroom after having reprimanded him that his bare-legged presence was 'such an unseemly sight in a Maiden's Chamber' p. With this anecdote, Whitelock sketches the importance of the female companion both as a bodyguard and protector of the princess's reputation, but also as a political force. Namely, Whitelock observes that soon after Elizabeth's guardian, the dowager queen Katherine, had died, rumours were spread that Elizabeth bore Lord Seymour's child. Kat Ashley was then taken into the Tower of London to be interrogated, but remained loyal to Elizabeth by taking the blame for these rumours and confessing to her own 'great folly' of ever having spoken of a potential marital union between Seymour and Elizabeth' p. As a political force, Elizabeth's governess tested whether a match or alliance would have met the approval of the ruling parties — at that time, her brother the King, and the Lord Protector, his guardian. Throughout the chapters of her study, Whitelock portrays and analyses this strategy to be a recurring pattern during Elizabeth's reign: the Ladies of the Bedchamber acted on the Queen's behalf during several courtships, so as to test the 'opinion at home and abroad' for specific matches, 'and then blame her women if it did not meet with a general approval' p. For example, Dorothy Bradbelt, who was 'oftentimes the Queen's bedfellow', and Kat Ashley wrote to the Swedish King's chancellor, Gyllenstierna, to tell him that it would be a good moment for the King to come to England in pursuit of Elizabeth p. Elizabeth and King Erik started sending each other gifts of appreciation, but when the correspondence was intercepted by Cecil, Elizabeth blamed her women, calling them 'idle Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court but giving them unconvincingly low punishments for their 'interferences' p. A recurring theme in the book is the Ladies of the Bedchamber's role in controlling the physical representation of the Queen, and their preserving the secrets of her body along with their political implications, both during Elizabeth's life-time and after, to build and preserve the cult of Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court, the powerful Virgin Queen. As Elizabeth was aging, her Ladies daily applied the make-up that Whitelock describes as a 'mask of youth' p. A forever youthful face also featured painted portraits of the Queen. These portraits were controlled by the Sergeant Painter George Gower, to ensure that artists would not represent 'the natural representation of the Queen's person', but rather 'that beautiful and magnanimous Majesty where-with God hath blessed her' p. As Elizabeth reached the age where child-bearing was no longer a possibility, she needed to ensure the loyalty and trust of her subjects, and maintain the idea of a stable, never-changing Queen. Therefore, the reality of her appearance must never be seen by any subject aside the Ladies of the Bedchamber. Whitelock observes how unforgiving the Queen was when this rule was overstepped, by describing how Elizabeth's favourite courtier, Essex, accidentally Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court upon the Queen in her nightdress, her face wrinkled and free of make-up, and her head bald, but with 'wisps of greying hair hanging about her ears'. He overstepped a line, having seen the Queen's natural appearance as it should only ever been seen by her Ladies p. Although Elizabeth is recorded to have responded pleasantly enough at first, she changed her mind towards Essex's intrusion later that evening, and Essex was placed under house arrest p. The book's last two chapters reflect Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court the Ladies of the Bedchamber's guarding and protecting the Queen's body after her passing. Although it was a custom for monarchs to have their Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court embalmed after death, Elizabeth had decided that her body was not to be opened p. Whitelock explains that it was believed that the size and shape of a woman's womb would show whether a woman had borne children p. By not allowing the body to be investigated, and guarding it carefully, the Ladies are likely have acted 'to suppress questions about Elizabeth's virginity' p. Especially fascinating is the epilogue to the book. Having observed that the image of Elizabeth's persona was incredibly well-guarded during her life-time, and just after her death before her burial whilst the Queen's effigy was displayed to suggest the presence of her royal body after the death of her physical body, Whitelock's epilogue demonstrates that this protection was lost as soon as James I ascended the throne. Whitelock notes how James erected a monument to the glory of Elizabeth, but that this monument was 'deliberately smaller and less costly' p. The figure on Elizabeth's tomb depicted an elderly woman, an image that had never been tolerated during Elizabeth's reign. Further 'attacks' on the image that Elizabeth so carefully sought to preserve during her lifetime are, as Whitelock reflects, the poems, and pamphlets that were published just after Elizabeth's death. Examples of these are Thomas Newton's Atropoion Delion and his elegiac verses that describe 'greedy worms' as courtiers penetrating Elizabeth's death body p. Whitelock argues that 'representations Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court Elizabeth, her body and her memory, now became public property free to be used, and abused, and suit new political realities' p. Whitelock's exciting and source-driven biography sometimes feels anecdotal, rather than analytical. However, that is likely to be due to the presentation of the information in such short chapters, with analysis sometimes following in a later chapter. Whitelock does indeed analyse the importance of the Ladies of the Bedchamber as guardians of the Queen's physical and political body. She poignantly demonstrates that the Ladies of the Bedchamber's influence ended as soon as their mistress died, by depicting Mary Tudor's deathbed, surrounded by weeping Ladies of the Bedchamber. Whitelock importantly also refers to Jane Dormer's 'last significant act as Mary's bedfellow' in the form of her carrying a message from Mary to Elizabeth Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court which the former asked her to 'be good to her servants, pay Mary's debts and maintain the Catholic religion in England' p. Just as Elizabeth chose not to fulfil Mary's request about religion, James I after Elizabeth's death, chose not to maintain Elizabeth's image befitting her motto 'semper eadem'. Other studies, such as Borman's, provide more detail about the individual Ladies of the Bedchamber, but this is not Whitelock's aim; She rather presents the Ladies as collective, prone to changes, as some Ladies die or lose favour, and are replaced by others. The emphasis is on their role as confidantes, bodyguards, and as a political force, not on their private lives. This I believe to be completely in line with the way Elizabeth herself viewed her Bedfellows: as ladies who were always at her disposal, regardless of their own families, pregnancies, and relationships. Whitelock has risen to the challenge of presenting a stimulating reading of well-known material, both offering gossip which the reader can relish, as well as explaining the political significance behind the creation of such rumours — some of them originating with Elizabeth herself — to suit political aims. Apart from lending itself very well to the purpose of providing an introduction on the Elizabethan court to student readers, this captivating book will appeal to a wide range of readers, from specialist academics, to a non-specialist public interested Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court Tudor history. Skip to main content. Back to 2 June Elizabeth's Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queen's Court - Anna Whitelock - Google книги

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Elizabeth I acceded to the throne inrestoring the Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court faith to England. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath th Elizabeth I acceded to the throne inrestoring the Protestant faith to England. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath the make-up and elaborate clothes, as well as to rumoured illicit dalliances with such figures as Robert Dudley. Their presence was for security as well as propriety, as the kingdom was haunted by fears of assassination plots and other Catholic subterfuge. This riveting, revealing history of the politics of intimacy uncovers the feminized world of the Elizabethan court. Between the scandal and intrigue the women who attended the queen were the guardians of the truth about her health, chastity Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court fertility. Their stories offer extraordinary insight into the daily life of the Elizabethans, the fragility of royal favour and the price of disloyalty. Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. More Details Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Queen's Bedplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. May 14, Orsolya rated it liked it Shelves: queenslibraryelizabeth-itudor-englandhistory. The Gloriana is certainly glorious. The work begins with a prologue which feels out of place as the first chapter also feels like an introduction, therefore setting up choppiness and a disjointed text which is sadly maintained throughout. The text is recommended more for those searching for historical indexed facts versus those seeking a historical-narrative flow. Adding a dry writing style to this already weak book creates a piece which fails to be compelling or hold reader attention. Expanding on this, Whitelock is guilty of simply retelling facts in a bland and rehearsed way without any emotion behind them. Who knew Elizabeth could be boring? Meanwhile, Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court also presents some facts and details which are new even for well-versed readers. Once again, each chapter is heavily disjointed from the previous. In this manner, Whitelock wraps up the text well. However, it should be noted that Whitelock uses some of the same quotes throughout the work to support various arguments. A LARGE error, on pagehas the first and second paragraphs starting out with the same sentences! The text is choppy, slow, and repetitive with many inconsistencies. Feb 19, Caroline rated it liked it Shelves: english-historywomen-s-historytudor-history. Of all of England's monarchs none has been subject to such prurient and physical scrutiny as Elizabeth I. History has been obsessed with her body and chastity, from her very earliest days as first a young princess and heir to an illegitimate bastard and back again, right up to today. The gossip and scandal surrounding her physicality and sexuality came in a very real way to define her entire reign and her relations with her nobles, subjects, foreign ambassadors and fellow princes. Elizabeth very Of all of England's monarchs none has been subject to such prurient and physical scrutiny as Elizabeth I. Elizabeth very deliberately played upon and enhanced the traditional dual image of the monarch's person, the natural body, and the body politic being one and the same. If Elizabeth's body was pure, legitimate Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court uncorrupted, so too was her government and right to rule. In the service of this she cast herself in a very specific role - ever-youthful, ever-beautiful, uncorrupted and incorruptible, subject to no man, the Virgin Queen. It is no coincidence that in seeking to undermine and destabilise her country, her enemies took aim not just at her physical body via poisonings and assassination attempts, but also her 'moral body', her reputation, via scurrilous rumours and gossip about lovers, orgies and illegitimate children. Whitelock takes that dual image as the central theme of this book, exploring Elizabeth's intimate personal life with those who would have known her best - her Gentlewomen of the Privy Chamber and her varied favourites: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester; Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex; Sir Walter Raleign; Sir Christopher Hatton - and how those relationships impacted on her rule and government. It's a lively read and an interesting approach, although with such short chapters it does take on a somewhat episodic feel at times. Whitelock never takes a position as to Elizabeth's sexuality and chastity, something I respect and admire from a woman and an historian. At this remove of Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court it would be dishonest to pretend that such certainty was remotely possibly, and it is surely no coincidence that most of those throughout history who have claimed such positions were almost all men. A King, after all, would never have had to take such a position to bolster his legitimacy and secure his throne in the first place. Jan 21, Biblio Files takingadayoff rated it liked it. The Tudors are an endless source of entertainment and scholarship. I've spent many enjoyable hours reading about them. Anna Whitelock's new book is about the inner court of Elizabeth I, and as the British edition has it, "Elizabeth's Bedfellows. But as a history of the inner court, and in particular, Elizabeth's closest advisors and servants, it falls short. I am tempted to excuse this failing due to the l The Tudors are an endless source of entertainment and scholarship. I am tempted to excuse this failing due to the lack of Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court material that details the lives and actions of the women closest to Elizabeth. After all, women were often an afterthought in the 16th century, and who would have thought to write about servants, even those of the Queen? But as it happens, someone has already written a book on the topic and found quite a lot of information about the women of Elizabeth's privy chamber. Elizabeth's Women by Tracy Borman came out about four years ago. It tells a Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court of the Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court class, well-educated women who populated Elizabeth's court. They were an influential and politically savvy group, and Elizabeth talked with them about policy and diplomacy. It was quite a revelation to me that these were not just servants who tended to the Queen's makeup and dress. They were intelligent and opinionated advisors who were often targeted by foreign diplomats for inside information. The Queen's Bed is a fine book about Elizabeth, but if you were hoping for a little more information about the part the women of the Queen's privy chamber played, I'd have to point you toward Borman's book instead. View 1 comment. This is a popular biography of Elizabeth which eschews high politics for the personal. Focusing on Elizabeth's ladies of the bedchamber and re-telling the stories of her various entanglements and aborted marriage plans, this doesn't reveal anything new but may be an interesting read to anyone only familiar with the queen and her court through fiction. All the expected episodes are here: the youthful yet disturbing flirtation with Thomas Seymour, then married to Elizabeth's step-mother Katherine P This is a popular biography of Elizabeth which eschews high politics for the personal. All the expected episodes are here: the youthful yet disturbing flirtation with Thomas Seymour, then married to Elizabeth's step-mother Katherine Parr; Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court Dudley, Earl of Leicester; Christopher Hatton; Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex; as well as the various negotiations for marriage with the royal houses of France and Spain. The idea that Elizabeth's sexuality, body and fertility is especially under scrutiny because of her gender doesn't really stand up given the intense gossip and political concern over her father's, Henry VIII, own hectic love-life, though he didn't, of course, have to maintain an aura of chastity in the way that Elizabeth did. So, ultimately, this doesn't do anything different with the expected sources or reveal anything new about Elizabeth. But if you only know her through popular fiction and the various TV and film treatments that abound, this is an easy and informative read that zips along breezily as it offers the historical picture behind the fiction. The next best thing to being there There aren't enough books that really describe what life was like in the Tudor palaces, though there are histories aplenty, some with occasional tidbits of "how they lived," but to find a whole book dedicated to the topic of the women who served the queen - also neatly tied with the events happening at the time - was a huge treat. The photos at Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court back Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court a bonus. Highly recommended for the Tudorholic and history fan alike. Unfortunately, Whitelock lost sight of her own objective and relayed more information about the principal male players surrounding Elizabeth. There were a few anecdotes that Whitelock related that were unfamiliar to this reader but generally this was a standard biography. If the title is about the bedfellows, we needed to hear about their lives—background on their childhood, how they came to be associated with Elizabeth, their children, husbands, their estates, etc. Instead, we learned that John Dee asked such and such to be godmother to his children, we learned about the Irish issue, we learned about Mary, Queen of Scots and we learned about Essex. Do not get me wrong, those are interesting topics to this reviewer, it is just that a book on the ladies-in-waiting should be about the ladies-in- waiting. It became a bit of a distraction and a bit comical after pages of political discussion there would be an attempt to finish the paragraph with something about a woman at Court and the word, bedfellow would be worked into it. One began to think that Whitelock intended to have a certain page limit and was determined to reach it. A shorter volume focused on the promised topic would have been more welcome. Repeating all the innuendoes seemed to prove that Whitelock wanted to cash in on sensationalized history. This sounds like a very negative review so the three and a half stars may not seem compatible. It is a well-written book with fewer than normal errors. Modern titles seem to be so quickly produced that there are often editing issues that could be so easily corrected before going to print—some words were missing in sentences and some punctuation needed correction. Use of primary sources is always a plus and Whitelock incorporated many of them although a large selection derived from the men of the Court. All in all, an acceptable read for those interested in a basic biography of Elizabeth Regina and who do not have an extensive background in the time period. The Queen's Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth's Court by Anna Whitelock

Buy from other retailers. Please note that ebooks are subject to tax and the final price may vary depending on your country of Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court. Elizabeth I acceded to the throne inrestoring the Protestant faith to England. At the heart of the new queen's court lay Elizabeth's bedchamber, closely guarded by the favoured women who helped her dress, looked after her jewels and shared her bed. Elizabeth's private life was of public, political concern. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath the make-up and elaborate clothes, as well as to rumoured illicit dalliances with such figures as Robert Dudley. Their presence was for security as well as propriety, as the kingdom was haunted by fears of assassination plots and other Catholic subterfuge. For such was the significance of the queen's body: it represented the very state itself. This riveting, revealing history of the politics of intimacy uncovers the feminized world of the Elizabethan court. Between the scandal and intrigue the women who attended the queen were the guardians of the truth about her health, chastity Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court fertility. Their stories offer extraordinary insight into the daily life of the Elizabethans, the fragility of royal favour and the price of disloyalty. Self-possessed, she was also owned by every gossip in Europe. Her virginity was a national asset, but a wasting asset as her reign progressed. Her body was the body politic, closely guarded but obscenely scrutinised, subject to adoration, speculation and threat. She, too, has burst into the bedroom and shown us the Queen in her most private state. Gradually she won me over, principally by her very skilful use of contemporary quotations, and since much of the contemporary comment was extremely lively, the book became a very good read Some of the best parts are the material details of Elizabeth's domestic surroundings In places the book offers fascinating glimpses of Elizabeth I's life behind closed doors, and is enriched by Anna Whitelock's eye for the curious and engaging detail You can unsubscribe from newsletters at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in Elizabeths Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queens Court newsletter. For information on how we process your data, read our Privacy Policy. This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy. It looks like you are located in Australia or New Zealand Close. Visit the Australia site Continue on UK site. Visit the Australia site. Continue on UK site.