My Just Desire: The Life of Bess Ralegh, Wife to Sir Walter

 

Summary (from the publisher): Young, beautiful, and connected by blood to the most powerful families in England, Bess Throckmorton had as much influence over Queen Elizabeth I as any woman in the realm—but she risked everything to marry the most charismatic man of the day. The secret marriage between Bess and the Queen’s beloved Sir Walter Ralegh cost both of them their fortunes, their freedom, and very nearly their lives. Yet it was Bess, resilient, passionate, and politically shrewd, who would live to restore their name and reclaim her political influence. In this dazzling biography, Bess Ralegh finally emerges from her husband’s shadow to stand as a complex, commanding figure in her own right.

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.

Review:  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. 

Stars: 4