Elizabeth Talbot (née Hardwick; later Barlow, Cavendish, St. Loe), Countess of Shrewsbury, “Bess of Hardwick” (c. 1527–1608) is one of England’s most famous Elizabethans. Her extraordinary innovations in architecture and textile art include the magnificent Hardwick New Hall and its remarkable interiors. She is known for her modest social background, multiple marriages, business acumen, political maneuverings, and connections with Mary, queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I. Her life was synchronous with her engagement in textual cultures: her letters, financial accounts, household papers, and embroideries are interwoven with her agency and identity. They show us “Bess of Hardwick” immersed in everyday textual practices and performances as she navigated and negotiated the gendered power structures of her world. The collections of materials associated with Hardwick are vital to the history of early modern women’s writing, as well as to understanding Elizabethan England in its global contexts.