The two 'Robins' are connected with Raleigh in what is described as a Triumvirate, around which both her life and the fate of England are shown as revolving. They are all shown as children growing up in the shadows of their elders, Lord Essex and Lord Burghley, respectively and the court intrigues of the times. She is immersed in court culture, early on being connected with Philip Sidney, Robert Devereux, and Robin Cecil.

Bess grows up at court in proximity to Mary Sidney, eventually becoming a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen.

He is whistling the tune of Greensleeves, which is used throughout the novel, and shares his frustration of being stymied in his goals of exploration. She is 12 years of age, and Raleigh makes a strong impression on her during a chance meeting in a garden. Much of the rest of Raleigh's life is explained as being primarily motivated by this passion.īess is brought into the novel when Raleigh is seeking favor at Queen Elizabeth's court at the Palace of Westminster.

Glibert is attributed as sharing and inspiring Raleigh's lifelong passion of wanting explore the New World, beginning with a plan to seek the fabled Northwest Passage. The story is primarily about the life and exploits of Sir Walter Raleigh, albeit with the bulk of the narration revolving around the impact of his life on Elizabeth Throckmorton, who is referred to as 'Bess.' It begins with Raleigh's (this is the spelling used in the novel) childhood in Budleigh, and quickly shows his close relationship with half-brother Humphrey Gilbert. This is the first of Sutcliff's five novels written and listed as expressly for 'adult' readership, and like her later 1967 adult novel The Flowers of Adonis, uses the technique of having the central character's narrative told by his relation to other characters. It is set in the Elizabethan era and beginning of the Stuart period of England, telling the life story of Sir Walter Raleigh, primarily through the viewpoint of his wife, Bess Throckmorton. Lady in Waiting is a historical novel by Rosemary Sutcliff and first published in 1957.

Lady in waiting book