Henry Clifford

First published in 1956, this book is a rich collection of letters written by Major-General Sir Henry Clifford during his service in the Crimean War, where he received the appointment of aide-de-camp to Sir George Brown, commanding the light division, and was present at Alma and Inkerman. For his gallantry in the latter battle, Clifford was decorated with the Victoria Cross, in honour of leading one of the charges, killing one of the enemy with his sword, disabling another, and saving the life of a soldier. “In reading these letters one cannot fail to be impressed by the noble character of the writer: a man of great courage, both moral and physical, a fine leader of men, and a first-rate officer, quick in his grasp of a difficult situation, forthright in his opinions and criticisms. Even by our standards of today he would certainly be classed as well above the average of his rank. [...] It is a great privilege to read these frank and vivid letters of 100 years ago and to learn from them at first hand of the courage and endurance of the British soldier in adversity.” Richly illustrated throughout with Clifford’s own sketches and notes, plus three maps.

The story of Lady Anne Clifford is one of feminine victory in a man's world, the men including King James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and two husbands: the Earl of Dorset, gambler, womaniser and waster, and the Earl of Pembroke, also gambler, womaniser etc. Lady Anne was the third child of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, Elizabeth I's Royal Champion. Henry VIII was Anne's great-great uncle. From the age of ten, Anne was a highly regarded figure at Elizabeth's Court. Her two brothers died in infancy, leaving her sole heiress, but when father died in 1605 his illegal will left all to his younger brother. Lady Anne (aged 15) objected to the will and, rightfully, claimed the estates herself. Kings, archbishops and husbands spent years trying to persuade her that she, a mere female, should think of the greater good of society as God and men had ordered it, give up her claim, and let the men have what was properly theirs. By shrewd moves, sheer determination and faith, Lady Anne outlasted and defeated the lot of them, restored her castles and became the grande dame of the north.

Noblewoman, vividly documents both the great and the trivial events of her long life. They cover her life from her childhood days, when she witnessed the funeral of Queen Elizabeth I, to her last months, when she recalled her past from her room in Brougham Castle. Through compiling and transcribing the manuscript records, D.J.H. Clifford here presents in one volume the full range of Lady Anne's life: her active role at court as the Countess of Dorset (residing at Knole in Kent), her turbulent second marriage to the 4th Earl of Pembroke at Wilton Wiltshire, and her final, long-disputed succession to her father's lands in Westmorland and North Yorkshire. The diaries are complemented by explanatory notes, family trees and illustrations. They provide both an important historical record and an intriguing glimpse into the and character of this noble and Christian lady, whose powerful presence is still in evidence today in the monuments and folklore of Westmorland.

Introduction -- The politics of women's "domestic" alliances. Distaff power: plebeian female alliances in early modern England / Bernard Capp -- Between women: slanderous speech and neighborly bonds in Henry Porter's The two angry women of Abington / Ronda Arab -- The political role of the gossip in Swetnam the woman-hater, arraigned by women / Megan Inbody -- Virtual and actual female alliance in The maid's tragedy and The tamer tamed / Niamh J. O'Leary -- Failed alliances and miserable marriages in Katherine Philips's letters / Elizabeth Hodgson -- Women's alliances and the politics of the court. Performing patronage, crafting alliances: ladies' lotteries in English pageantry / Elizabeth Zeman Kolkovich -- Tyrants, love, and ladies' eyes: the politics of female-boy alliance on the Jacobean stage Roberta Barker -- Her advocate to the loudest: Arbella Stuart and female courtly alliance in The winter's tale / Alicia Tomasian -- Not sparing kings: Aemilia Lanyer and the religious politics of female alliance / Christina Luckyj -- The politics of female kinship. Shakespeare revises Juliet, the nurse, and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet / Steven Urkowitz -- Crossing generations: female alliances and dynastic power in Anne Clifford's great books of record / Jessica l. Malay -- Exilic inspiration and the captive life: the literary/political alliances of the Cavendish sisters / Jennifer Higginbotham -- Afterword / Susan Frye and Karen Robertson