If the Elizabethans had done awards for women of achievement, surely Bess of Hardwick, the home-grown farmer's daughter who became best friends with one queen and jailor of another, would have been a front runner
Creator of the Chatsworth estate and Hardwick Hall, Bess become the equivalent of a modern-day billionairess and founded dynasties that still wield influence today.
She ranked second only to the Queen in both riches and power when she died, at the ripe old age of 80, exactly 400 years ago.
But has the memory of Bess, one of England's greatest ever female success stories, become fettered by the type of gossip and spin many a modern day celebrity has to cope with? Today, many a visitor to her stunning home just a few miles from Chesterfield arrives with an impression already formed of Bess.
At best she's painted as a shrewd social climber; the archetypal gold-digger long before footballer's wives were ever invented.
At worst, she's something of a black widow, marrying for money, then bumping off her husbands to proceed to the next, even wealthier one. Not so on either score, says a local amateur historian who will be revealing a new side of Bess at Sheffield's Off The Shelf Literary Festival.
Try hard-working career mother sacrificing time with her kids so she could give them the best in life, says Judy Williams.
No one really knows whether Bess was a hard-headed career woman who loved her time spent partying in the royal palaces of London and didn't care a fig about leaving her children for weeks on end.
Or whether, as Judy prefers to believe, she was simply a hard-working mother whom widowhood had left with no choice but to sacrifice time with her kids so she could continue to give them the best in life.
But Judy's lecture promises to be an illuminating one; Bess has held Judy spellbound for decades.
The retired Westfield School drama and English teacher was a little girl of eight growing up in Wales when she first came upon Bess's story.
"I read a book called eminent Englishwomen, and Bess of Hardwick left me mesmerised," she remembers. "When I came to teach in South Yorkshire I could not believe how close I was to her roots. In many ways, I aspired to her for much of my life. That a woman could rise from virtually nothing in the Elizabethan age was such an incredible feat.
"But the more I found out about Bess's life, the more I came to realise what a personality she was," says Judy, a regular speaker on Bess and a significant player in the historical re-enactments staged at National Trust-owned Hardwick Hall. Forget plotting and dirty dealings; it was personality, hard work and much personal sacrifice that took Bess to the top, Judy believes.
According to historical record, Bess was no great beauty. "But she was feminine, witty and intelligent," says Judy. "Through her job, which by today's standards would be classed as a full-time career, she had to mix with the right people. And they warmed to her modesty and charm."
How did a woman from such lowly roots manage to hone such social skills?
"Well, the story has got muddled over the years," says Judy.
"Bess was born in a manor house, where the old Hardwick Hall still stands. Her father was a cattle farmer. But the family had important connections; they were descendants of King Edward I."
Those connections meant Bess Elizabeth could be sent to train to be a lady-in-waiting at the Ashby home of Lady Zouche - herself a former lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn.
It was a great job, explains Judy. "In effect, you became the companion of the lady of the house. You ran her home for her, sat and sewed with her, played music together and helped her to entertain. And with the job came the perks; it was a terrific way to network.
"Businesswomen today know how important social networking is to their future prospects. Bess saw the advantages more than 400 years ago."
Scandal in royal circlesDid Bess's fourth husband have an affair with his Royal houseguest?
History says Bess suspected it - and complained to Queen Elizabeth. But whether doubts of her husband's fidelity were based on jealousy or fact is not known.
What is indisputable, says Judy, is the strain that Mary's presence put on them.
"They were thrilled when Elizabeth asked them to be custodians of the woman she feared could be used to oust her from her throne. It was an honour to be taken into the Queen's trust," Judy explains.
The marriage broke up under the strain and Bess did what any modern woman would do - she told her husband he had to move out. Shrewsbury died several years later at Sheffield Castle, in the arms of a mistress.
And Bess found herself wedded again - this time to her first love, Hardwick Hall. She bought the family estate and set about the creation of the new hall, a symbol of the wealthy, powerful and wise woman who was born in its shadow.
Judy's talk on Bess is on October 14 at Crystal Peaks Library at 2.30pm. Free entry but to book call 0114 293 0612.
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