Tag Archives: Lord Protector

Book Review: “John Dudley: The Life of Lady Jane Grey’s Father-in-Law” by Christine Hartweg

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John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland is an enigmatic character in Tudor history. He makes his appearance during the last days of King Henry VIII and came to great prominence during the reign of King Edward VI. He was largely responsible for the execution of Protector Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and for the short reign of Lady Jane Grey.

Christine Hartweg has a fascination for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the great favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. By extension, she has done meticulous research into Leicester’s father resulting in this biography. There is great detail here on the personal life of John Dudley including his early life and the execution of his father after the death of King Henry VII. It is interesting to note he had a devoted relationship with his wife, Jane Guildford. Her father had been Northumberland’s mentor and the couple had a large and loving family.

Hartweg recounts Northumberland’s rise to power including his clashes with the Duke of Somerset and his close mentoring of King Edward VI. Northumberland was a great proponent of the Protestant religion. This led him to influence King Edward to modify his will and name his cousin Lady Jane Grey as his successor. Northumberland arranged a marriage between Jane Grey and his son Guildford. It is uncertain if he forged this match specifically so his son could be king and he could retain some of his power. This is an intriguing question.

Another intriguing question is whether Northumberland genuinely repudiated his Protestant faith and became a true Catholic. Or was he just trying to save his own skin? The truth is we will never really know. It is clear that Queen Mary I didn’t believe him and Northumberland was unable to avoid execution. There are no definitive answers to these questions but Hartweg does a great job with the historical evidence and gives us all the possibilities. This book is highly recommended for those interested in the career of John Dudley.

Book Review: “The Path to Somerset” (The Seymour Saga Book 2) by Janet Wertman

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Janet Wertman has followed her successful novel “Jane the Quene” with book 2, “The Path to Somerset” in what she has entitled “The Seymour Saga”. This volume is a richly detailed and dark account of the rise of Jane Seymour’s elder brother Edward to the position of regent and Lord Protector of England for his nephew King Edward VI. The story covers some of the most significant episodes in the reign of King Henry VIII.

Edward Seymour was one of the few people who were well liked by Henry VIII. All your favorite Tudor personalities appear in the saga including Thomas Cromwell, Archbishop Cranmer, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, Margaret Douglas, Edward’s brother Thomas Seymour, Edward’s wife Anne Seymour, Stephen Gardiner and many others. This is a reliable depiction of the inner workings of King Henry’s government from 1540 until his death in January of 1547.

Wertman has written some great scenes displaying the animosity between Cromwell and Norfolk. The first meeting between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves is portrayed and very enjoyable. We see the rise and fall of Catherine Howard and Henry’s marriage to the mature widow Katherine Parr. We are witnesses to the scheming of certain men in the council to bring about Queen Katherine Parr’s downfall. The death of Henry and all the machinations behind the scenes are shown here with some exceptional dialogue. Wertman brings these people to life. A very enjoyable read and looking forward to Wertman’s next installment on the Seymour family.

Book Review: “The Seymours of Wolf Hall: A Tudor Family Story” by David Loades

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The Seymours of Wolf Hall book cover

It seems the Seymour family is more interesting than they appear on the surface. Most who know Tudor history are familiar with Jane Seymour, third wife of King Henry VIII and mother of King Edward VI. Others may have heard of Jane’s brothers, the dour Lord Protector Edward, Duke of Somerset and the swashbuckling Thomas, Baron Seymour of Sudeley and Lord Admiral. This book goes into even more depth about the family.

The introduction and initial chapter traces the Seymour ancestry back to France and how they migrated to England. I found the information on Jane’s father Sir John Seymour to be of great interest. He was a man of means and had ties to the court but didn’t spend much time there, choosing to live in Wiltshire and tend to business at home. Edward and Thomas were introduced to court and had valid careers in the navy, as gentlemen of the court and in Edward’s case as a successful soldier.

There are chapters in the book dedicated to Jane, Edward, Thomas and other siblings. Something I found most interesting was how Henry VIII really took a liking to Edward and rewarded him. He was very much part of the inner circle of the King. In addition to being the uncle of Edward VI, this is how he earned his important place on the council to rule England during Edward’s minority after Henry’s death. Loades also clarifies the reasons for Edward’s downfall. Thomas is by far the most attention-grabbing figure in the family. Mercurial and indiscreet, he seems to have set in motion all the mechanisms for his own downfall. The last part of the book traces the descendants of Edward Seymour and his wife Anne Stanhope down to the present day.

I’ve never read anything by Loades before and he certainly has the credentials of a competent historian. He puts his own spin on all aspects of this family which I found new and refreshing. Because of this, I recommend this book. My only quibble is the format of the book. It seems the author penned the book and sent the manuscript to the publisher and it was published straight from that. The paragraphs all run together and there are some grammatical and punctuation errors. Most egregiously, there is no index for the book. The publisher could have engaged the services of an editor to correct these errors but it doesn’t detract from the history as presented by the author.