J.B. James

J.B. James describes how travelling was an occupation that, although they believed it had a good effect on the character, most sixteenth-century Englishmen found singularly unenjoyable.

J.B. James relates how, during the last years of Elizabeth I’s reign, Mountjoy played a leading role as courtier, soldier and faithful lover of Essex’s sister, Penelope Rich.

Overshadowed by the reputation of his brilliant elder brother, Robert Sidney “was not one of the flamboyant Elizabethans,” but a capable soldier and an industrious administrator.