Good non-fiction that helps explain the House of Norfolk. Just in time for me as I am watching "Wolf Hall". It can be quite difficult keeping all those Thomases and Henrys in their proper places, but an appendix at the end of the book helps with this a great deal. ( )

It's about Howard Dukes of Norfolk from Henry VII's reign to Elizabeth I's. ( )

House of Treason: Rise and Fall of a Tudor Dynasty is a work of monumental academic proportions. It tells the story of the ill-fated Dukes of Norfolk and is set against the stunning and bejewelled background of the Tudor court.

The book takes us from Henry VII, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Bosworth field to the 4th Duke’s son Philip who lost the dukedom under James I but gained canonisation in 1970, embracing the whole glittering Tudor period in which the Norfolks played so vitally important a role.

It is no ‘easy’ read but little wonder. The sheer breadth and depth of content is breathtaking: but do not give up …. the experience is worth every word. ( )

An absorbing account of the highs and lows of the Howard family, probably the most influential aristocratic families in Tudor England. The book provides fascinating insight into the machinations of the English court in what was the most dangerous period for aristocratic families with a lust for power and wealth in English history, as a succession of aristocrats were executed for treason. The Howard family certainly illustrate this more than most, as for generations they perceived themselves as the power behind the throne and meddled in Royal affairs. During Elizabeth’s reign many members of the family became recusants, also a treasonable offence. So it is no surprise that the first, second, third and fourth Dukes of Norfolk were attainted - accused of treason and their lands and titles confiscated - and several members of the family were executed, most notably two of Henry VIII's Queens, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, and the fourth Duke of Norfolk. Many other members of the family languished in the Tower, often for years. ( )