Tag: Chatsworth

+

The Dragon of Elizabeth’s Seas

  It is the beginning of May, 1587, and a man known locally as The Dragon is headed for Cadiz on Spain’s Atlantic coast. His mission is not peaceful. The act of sailing to Cadiz poses few challenges for this master mariner, who, ten years prior, had already circumnavigated the globe – becoming only the second person (after Magellan) to do so. But what … Read More The Dragon of Elizabeth’s Seas

+

She of the Voice

 “Ra-bi-ya, Ra-bi-ya…” As she surveys the black and white squares of the court before her, the song echoes in her head, a beloved memory of time spent, long ago, with her mother, playing their hiding game among the orange groves in the gardens of the royal home. ‘She of the voice, the inner voice,’ had been the way they referred to her, later in … Read More She of the Voice

+

A Woman of Power and Substance

It is the winter of 1584. The well-dressed woman watches as her fourth husband storms out of the dining hall at their present home, Tutbury Castle, in Staffordshire. In the corner of the room sits a younger woman, now smiling at the angry departure of the man of the house–the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury. The seated woman with the secretive smile has good reason … Read More A Woman of Power and Substance