About the book

“Superb scholarly detective work.” Rebecca Fraser, Author & Broadcaster

“The writing – and the research behind it – is superb!” Dr Anne Rowe, Historian & Author

“Deborah Spring provides an expertly researched, detailed and highly comprehensive life of Anne Bacon, who deserves to be a better known figure. Bacon, a noteworthy religious patron, writer and translator, was close to many of the major figures at the Tudor court. This important study of her life and influence shines a light on the position of women in sixteenth century society, demonstrating the informal channels through which they could access and influence power, while also identifying the strictures under which they lived. Well-written and full of detail, ‘Lady Anne Bacon’ is a wonderful addition to the growing body of works on Tudor women.” Elizabeth Norton, Historian & Broadcaster

Lady Anne Bacon (1528–1610) was a highly educated woman who lived through the great political and religious transitions of five reigns and was embedded in the network of power at the Tudor court. Her intelligence and education took her far beyond the limits of the domestic sphere and she was caught up in pivotal events, including the crisis at the accession of Mary I and the reform of the Church of England under Edward VI and Elizabeth I. Yet, like many women, her place in the historical record remains shadowy and few today have heard of her.

Born into an Essex gentry family, she was one of the five scholarly Cooke sisters, renowned for their learning. As a young woman she applied her linguistic skills to writing and translation, becoming a published translator before she was twenty. She served as a woman of the Privy Chamber, the inner circle of royal attendants, to both Mary I and Elizabeth I.