Henry VIII's Last Victim

by Jessie Childs

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was one of the most flamboyant and controversial characters of Henry VIII's reign.A pioneering poet, whose verse had a profound impact on Shakespeare, Surrey was nevertheless branded by one contemporary as 'the most foolish proud boy that is in England'. He was the heir of England's premier nobleman, first cousin to two of Henry VIII's wives - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard - and best friend and brother-in-law to the King's illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy.Celebrated for his chivalrous deeds both on and off the battlefield, Surrey became, at only twenty-eight, the King's Lieutenant General in France. But his confident exterior masked insecurity and loneliness. A man of intriguing contradictions, Surrey was both law enforcer and law breaker, political conservative and religious reformer and his life, replete with drunken escapades, battlefield heroics, conspiracy and courtroom drama, sheds new light on the opulence and artifice of a dazzling, but deadly, age.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, Biography, Biography Memoir, British Literature, Historical

582 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 28, 2007

About the author

Jessie Childs is an award-winning historian, broadcaster and the author of God's Traitors (PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History), Henry VIII's Last Victim (Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography) and, most recently, The Siege of Loyalty House, which tells the story of the heroic resistance of a royalist mansion in the English Civil War. Simon Schama has called it ‘extraordinary, thrilling, immersive… at times almost Tolstoyan in its emotional intelligence and literary power’.

Jessie has written and reviewed for many papers, including the Sunday Times, Guardian and London Review of Books. TV contributions include the BAFTA-nominated Elizabeth I's Secret Agents (BBC 2 & PBS) and two BBC series on Charles I.

She lives with her husband, two daughters and a cairn terrier in Hammersmith, not far from a brewery, a distillery and the River Thames.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Excellent bio of Surrey, jerk, pioneering poet, and son of one of the ghastlier Dukes of Norfolk, not that that narrows it down.

Really good on sense of place and time and personality, and the fear and paranoia of Henry VIII's court. Excellent writing, lively and engaging, and the parts about Surrey's poetry are fascinating. How historical biography should be done.

[Louis Phillips]

Holbein's painting says it all.

[Louise]

An extremely detailed account of the life of the Earl of Surrey, with a truly admirable amount of research. The author toggled back and forth between Surrey's life and his poetry, showing how his life played out in his poetry; I was less interested in the poetry than the history. This book actually made the Duke of Norfolk (Surrey's father) seem quite human. Many novels cast him as an evil villain but here it seems clear that he was trying to survive just like everybody else. Amazing, though, how it was family member vs family member in the court of Henry VIII.

[Truls Ljungström]

Denna var välskriven, utan att vara sensationalistisk. Kan rekommendera.

[Susan]

This is a very well written account of its subject. Recommended for those with a particular interest in this period of history.

[G. Lawrence]

Interesting and well written, occasionally a bit flat, but generally good.

[matthew mcdonald]

Really enjoyed this.

I guess I like historical fiction or history that reads like historical fiction. Was also interesting having recently read the first wolf hall book.

The protagonist led a pretty eventful/interesting life.

Did seem like there was not a lot of material for the author to work with and was surprised that they managed to get a decent-length book out of it, and that the book didn't feel too thin or boring.

Not sure if this really was a good book, or if it was just the kind of book that I like to read but was definitely the most enjoyable of the four books I read over summer holidays.

Follow-up: It turns out that Surrey makes an appearance in book 2 of Wolf Hall. Will be interesting to see how much of his story is included - I'm only about halfway through book 2.

[Kavita]

A very balanced portrayal of the Earl of Surrey. Jessie Childs has done some remarkable research on one of the obscure figures of the reign of Henry VIII and has written a sensitive, yet balanced biography, a rare thing these days.

It was also a novel approach of using Howard's poems to illustrate his character and behaviour, and connecting them to contemporary events. Thug, nobleman or talented youth, Henry Howard stands out so well in this biography that one can easily put oneself in his place.

And the best thing about this book is that it is not a bio on one of Henry's queens!

[Ralph Britton]

This is a sensitive biography which does not try to gloss over puzzling or uncertain aspects of Surrey's Life. I liked the treatment of his poetry in particular and the thoughtful attempt to relate it to his life. The book also throws another light on the character of King Henry VII, not to his advantage.

[Mrs S Ruck]

Outstanding

Outstanding read extremely well researched a riveting read well worth a read a must for those interested in the story of Henry Howard

[Chris Little]

I'm glad not to have been part of the court of Henry VIII.

Detailed research and presentation on one figure, and an interesting figure. But, to be honest, sometimes boring to read. It has parts swamped by detail, but that's understandable. I am not really convinced by detailed psychologising of so many of the poems of Henry Howard. There's a repeated tendency to argue along the lines of 'he must have felt this or thought that' before proceeding by assuming the point proven. Any history writer is, naturally, trying to enter the mind of the subject, but it can go too far.

[Paul Taylor]

An accomplished first book from one our finest historians of the Tudor and Renaissance period. The book combines admirable scholarship with great readability. The Court of Henry VIII, a capricious and selfish king, was a nest of vipers in which the arrogant, outspoken and yet sensistive, poetic Earl of Surrey (his recognition title) was to fall victim.

[Peter Beard]

A detailed account of Henry's life

I enjoyed this fascinating piece of history. It's well researched and Child's has been generous with the details.
I lost my concentration a bit when Child's wrote about Henry's prose and poetry, but I think many others will appreciate it.

[JenniferB]

Really interesting book related to the tudor period.

[Helen]

really interesting read

[Philip Healey]

A good overview of the man, his time and work. Fine boon with good scholarship, not quite to my taste. Would recommend but not read again.

[Kathryn Hardy]

Brilliant, well researched biography of a fascinating character in Tudor history.

[Sarah W.]

A good biography of Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey, who was an English poet, courtier to Henry VIII, and a military leader. Jessie Childs brings in details about the nobility and daily life to attempt to give a more complete picture of Surrey's life. However, I was somewhat disappointed in the discussion of the events leading to Surrey's execution, although this may be more a problem of sparse documentation than a failure of the author's. Nevertheless, this book provides a good overview of a noble family's fortunes during the period.

[Linda Humberstone]

Expertly researched giving a sympathetic picture of the executed Earl of Surrey's personality and short life. Talented from boyhood as a scholar and poet he ended up being just another imagined threat to Henry and his conniving advisors. He was brought to trial and execution on trumped up charges. Excellent history book illustrating the animosity between Catholics' and protestants' and the power struggles in the court of Henry V111.

[Kara]

The author gets a little too speculative at times, trying to get into the Earl's head with little to go on, but overall, an excellent new display of the people of Henry VIII's court.

Also, this book was obviously a major source for the writing of season 4 of Showtime's The Tudors - so cool to see the book quoted on the show!

[Judy]

This well written biography of a mercurial Tudor nobleman carried along well and introduced me to the poetry of a talented poetic innovator

[Michael Heath-Caldwell]

Informative, rather dry review of the life of Henry Howard, who eventually ran foul of Henry VIII, which was a rather terminal thing to do.