SOURCE: Spence, R. T. “Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery (1590-1676): A Reappraisal.” Northern History XV (1979): 43-65.

In the following essay, Spence claims that Clifford's biographers have tended to be too uncritical of her, and attempts to present a more rounded picture of Clifford's character and actions. He claims that while she was indeed a remarkable, strong woman, she also adhered to the assumptions of patriarchalism and was thus not a champion of female emancipation.

More than most of her contemporaries, Lady Anne Clifford has attracted not just the attention but the admiration of historians.¹ Indeed there is much to praise in Lady Anne's attitudes and activities—her intellectual and cultural interests, devotion to faith and family, munificence and massive rebuilding of her castles and churches. She readily evokes sympathy too for her marital misfortunes and the long struggle to win her rightful inheritance against...