House of Treason: The fatal pride and ambition of a powerful Tudor dynasty, 1485-1595
Robert Hutchinson
THE NORFOLK FAMILY were the wealthiest and most powerful members of the aristocracy in Tudor England. They were the last of the "over-mighty subjects" to survive from the powerful nobles of the Middle Ages and possessed the pride and arrogance to match the huge swathes of England under their ownership. The Fourth Duke, who died on the scaffold on trumped-up charges of treason, boasted that his own revenues "were not much less than those of the kingdom of Scotland . . . and that when he was in his tennis court at Norwich, he thought himself... equal with some kings". They were cursed with a blind stupidity and a persistent penchant for plotting against the Crown of England. Over successive generations, they were to pay dearly for their fatal ambitions.
This book describes the human drama and tensions of a turbulent century in the history of the Norfolks - when two dukes were attainted for treason; another executed and a fourth died in the Tower of London, later to be created a saint for his adherence to the Catholic religion. Most were no saints when it came to their inherited all-consuming lust for greater political power and wealth. Conspiracy was in their blood. Only the low cunning that was part of the Tudor genes, held them in check.
Book Details:
- Author: Robert Hutchinson
- Published Year: 2009
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Rights Sold
- UK: Weidenfeld
- Czech: Jiri Sevcik
- China: New World
Robert Hutchinson
Robert Hutchinson, author and broadcaster started his working life as a reporter on regional newspapers before joining The Press Association, (the news agency for UK and Irish media) as a night sub-editor. He returned to reporting, later becoming Defence Correspondent. In late 1983 he joined Jane’s Publishing Company as one of the team that successfully launched Jane’s Defence Weekly and became Publishing Director of Jane’s Information Group in 1987, responsible for its magazines, newsletters, books and digital products.Leaving a decade later, he compiled and edited two ed...
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Book Reviews
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"…Hutchinson is a lively biographer and brings the period vividly to life. One has a keen sense of its sights and smells as well as the less immediate stink of fear, betrayal and unbearable pain… This book gives a balanced…. view of the choices and compromises, the moral subtleties and the physical horrors of the age.”"
The Tablet -
"[Hutchinson] writes with vigour and enthusiasm.. there are some splendid set-pieces (the account of Flodden, for instance, is riveting)."
BBC History Magazine -
"Robert Hutchinson is making a corner for himself in popular, well-researched histories of the 16th century....It is a riveting story, splendidly told."
4* Daily Telegraph -
"...fascinating close-ups of outlandish Tudor behaviour."
Daily Mail -
"Robert Hutchinson tells the story of these princelings, as they liked to think themselves, with considerable panache, and has created a delightful and instructive book.."
Literary Review -
"Robert Hutchinson gives us a thoughtful sideways view onto 16th century court politics in House of Treason, a fascinating account of the Howard dynasty.
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