The Ebbs and Flows of Fortune: The Life of Thomas Howard, Third Duke of Norfolk

by David M. Head

Thomas Howard became the third duke of Norfolk during the reign of Henry VIII and was involved in many of the most controversial episodes of that era. By some accounts Norfolk became known as the greatest soldier and aristocrat alive under Henry VIII's rule, in Britain a period of transition from medieval to modern and spanning the Renaissance and Reformation. In this first comprehensive biography of Norfolk David M. Head confronts the central paradox of Norfolk's career. Here was a man of enormous ambition and family pride whose talents never matched that ambition-a man whose military and political victories brought him only short-term rewards, often followed by personal disaster. A social and religious conservative, Norfolk was uncomfortable with reformation ideology and the "low-born" men of the court. The duke sought a primary position within the court like that earned by Cromwell and Wolsey but was unwilling to perform the sustained hard work required to achieve that

Genres: Biography

387 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was very little about the private life of Thomas Howard until the last chapter and the conclusion and even here there was an element of justification of Thomas Howard's personality and actions. In context of a period in English history when it was on a cusp of great change and led by an unstable king, Thomas Howard was arguably the most unpleasant character of his day and there is little of this coming through the book. The book also has a couple of very minor inaccuracies e.g. Cowling Castle in Kent is in fact Cooling Castle.
However, it is clear considerable research has gone into this biography and it remains an extremely interesting read for anyone wanting to delve deeper into the background of the demise of Wolsey & Cromwell and how Parliament at the time worked.