Bess of Hardwick
Preserved but no longer current.
Elizabeth Talbot, Coun- tess of Shrewsbury (1518-1608), to whose charge, in 1569, Mary Queen of Scots was committed. The countess treated the captive queen with great harshness, being jealous of me earl her husband.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bess of Hardwick” mean?
Elizabeth Talbot, Coun- tess of Shrewsbury (1518-1608), to whose charge, in 1569, Mary Queen of Scots was committed. The countess treated the captive queen with great harshness, being jealous of me earl her husband.
Is “Bess of Hardwick” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.