As lover, wife and widow of Sir Walter Ralegh, Bess was the hidden force behind his spectacular public achievements, the stable point in his turbulent private life, and the shrewd creator of his reputation after his death.

Having resisted being married off in her teens, she began a passionate and illicit sexual relationship with Ralegh in her twenties.

Her intelligence and business acumen were exceptional, despite having no rights as a woman (twice she built a fortune from nothing), and her remarkable emotional strength sustained her through personal tragedy and political disasters that broke many others, including her own husband.

A woman in a man’s world, Bess’s ambitious pursuit of power and wealth, and justice for herself and her children, make compelling reading.

‘Anna Beer has lovingly restored Bess Ralegh to her rightful place among Elizabethan heroines. Brave, energetic, and resourceful to the point of audacity — Bess was a successful gambler against the odds. She rescued the reputation of her own husband, Sir Walter Ralegh, and now, four centuries later, Anna Beer has returned the favour.’ – Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire

‘[Anna Beer’s] eye for detail is outstanding.’ – Sunday Times

Anna Beer was born in London in 1964, and educated at Oxford and Reading Universities. She now lives and works in Oxford, where she is a Lecturer in Literature at the Department for Continuing Education and a Fellow of Kellog College. Her previous work includes an academic study of Sir Walter Ralegh’s political writings.

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