The Seymours of Wolf Hall: A Tudor Family Story

by David Loades

Although the Seymours arrived with the Normans, it is with Jane, Henry VIII’s third queen, and her brothers – Edward, Duke of Somerset, and Thomas, Lord Seymour of Sudeley – that they became prominent. Jane bore Henry his longed-for son, Edward VI, and both her brothers achieved prominence through her. Her brother Edward was central to Henry’s activities in Scotland and became Lord Protector for the young king, his nephew, a hugely powerful position. Thomas married Henry’s sixth wife, Catherine Parr, and after her death in 1548 aimed to marry Princess Elizabeth (the future Elizabeth I), with whom he had flirted when she was in Catherine’s care, and for this he was executed for high treason. Edward fell foul of his fellow councillors and was also executed. Edward’s son was restored to the title of Lord Hertford by Elizabeth I, but was sent to the Tower when it emerged that he had secretly married Jane Grey’s sister, Catherine, who was Elizabeth’s protestant heir. Both her marriage and pregnancy were an affront to the queen. This is the epic rise and fall of the family at the heart of the Tudor court and of Henry VIII’s own heart; he described Jane as ‘my first true wife’ and left express orders to be buried next to her tomb at Windsor Castle. The family seat of Wolfhall or ‘Wolf Hall’ in Wiltshire is long gone, but it lives on as an icon of the Tudor age.

For an alternate cover edition see: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Genres: Tudor Period, Nonfiction, History

296 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2015

About the author

David Michael Loades was a British historian who specialised in the Tudor era. After military service in the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1955, Loades studied at the University of Cambridge. In the 1960s and 1970s he taught at the universities of St. Andrews and Durham. From 1980 until 1996 Loades was Professor of History at the University of Wales; after taking emeritus status, Loades served as Honorary Research Professor at the University of Sheffield from 1996 until 2008.

Reviews

[Christine Hartweg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading in this book about the marriage of the Duke of Somerset's daughter Anne Seymour and John Dudley jr. that “This was a marriage which the Duchess of Suffolk had also wanted for her young son Henry, and it is testimony to Somerset's desire to mend fences with his former friend [John Dudley] that he risked crossing the duchess in order to achieve it.” Ouch. It was the duchess (née Katherine Willoughby) who didn't want a marriage between Anne Seymour and her son on the grounds that the young people were too young to be asked if they wanted each other.

This says it all about this book. There is also a book on Jane Seymour by David Loades. I have to say that I liked that one a lot more (it also had lots of stuff about the whole family). And I've read much more relevant treatments of the Duke of Somerset in other works of Loades, for example 'Intrigue and Treason'. - If you like Somerset you'll probably be very pleased with this book here, but I miss some mention of things like the slavery act or his harsh letter urging the punishment of rebels. He was only the friend of the poor here. Thomas Seymour, on the other hand, is the bad guy.

Somerset's relationship to colleagues or servants like Cecil and Paget or even his wives isn't explored, which is a pity. I would also have liked to see more on issues like Somerset's sons from his first marriage, whom he had disinherited (but only so long as he had sons by his second marriage) in a unique parliamentary statute under Henry VIII. About two pages each deal with Henry Seymour and Robert Seymour, brother and uncle of Somerset, respectively. There is also something on Sir John, the father of Queen Jane Seymour and her brothers. And there is a good chapter on Edward VI.

The chapter about the younger Earl of Hertford, also Edward Seymour, contains really weird things. Loades writes his wardship went to the Duke of Northumberland, but it went to Northumberland's eldest son, also John, who was young Edward Seymour's brother-in-law. Also, Loades writes that Catherine Grey remained imprisoned in her husband's company, even after the Tower. However, as is well known, Catherine was separated from her husband and elder son, living with her uncle and others until her death.

The book contains some pictures, the caption of one saying that Edward VI's document on the succession has amendments not in his own handwriting, an opinion certainly not shared by the author, nor by most other scholars.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading (and watching) Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, I had given scant thought to the Seymours when considering the Tudor period; however, they were an interesting family, as this book proves. On the whole, The Seymours of Wolf Hall is an fascinating read. There is plenty of historical detail, but the prose reads easily and never feels stodgy. My only complaint is the fact that the layout of the chapters means that sections of information end up being repeated in multiple chapters, which is a tad tedious at times. Overall, though, this is a lovely addition to the library of anyone interested in the Tudor era and well worth a read.

[G. Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a little lacking in some places, and slightly irritating in others. There are good chapters, and good information here, but generally I feel as though detail, even padding detail such as a view of Wiltshire in the Tudor age, perhaps, would have greatly added to this book to it's betterment. There are such scarce details on childhood, and, yes, I know there are few details of the Seymours' education, but surely a general idea of the childhood and education could have been offered? Something on general education rather than just, "suggests a home-based education"... And why not go into detail on some parts such as Edward's separation and abandonment of his first wife? It barely gets a mention, despite obviously being a family scandal which might have offered insight into the inner workings here...
Some of the book felt as though I was reading lusts of dates and events which I didn't find engaging.
All in all, there are good sections where it feel Loades warms to his subject, but this wasn't one of his best books for me. Well researched, interesting in places, but only something I would return to for reference.

[Margaret]

Did not finish.

[Susan Abernethy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Link to my review of this book:

http://flhwnotesandreviews.com/2016/0...

[Ken Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

[2015] I was looking forward to this book as it seemed to promise all the things I enjoy - Family and social history and descriptions of place over time. Written by an academic expert and meticulously researched it does not achieve, in my opinion, all of its promise, and leaves the reader (or at least this one) feeling it could have been better. The writing style in not particularly absorbing and you never really feel fully involved with the characters. I understand that the historical records can be patchy, but the constant use of 'there isn't much known about him' or 'the record doesn't tell us what happen' - just grates. Although most of us know the Seymours rose to prominence in Tudor times, I was expecting more about the 'Seymours of Wolf Hall'. The early members of the family are pretty much skated over in chapter one and the post-Tudor Seymours are dispatched in one almost 'after-thought' chapter. In fact, the family post the eighteenth century are described in a single paragraph.

The focus of the book are brothers Edward and Thomas and Edward's son another Edward. The brother's sister - the famous (Queen) Jane Seymour and her son the short-lived Edward VI. It must have been tricky deciding the depth to go into, but the reality is that better biographies of all the principle characters exist. The book pretty much sticks to the political dealings of the individuals and any descriptions of their day-to-day lives or their characters or motivations are minimal. Some elaboration, context, background or description would have enriched the story.

The author fails to understand that his reader may not have the same background or knowledge as himself. Some of the judicial and military historical terms would have benefited from a brief explanation. One also guesses that the title '...of Wolf Hall' was opportunistically chosen to 'cash-in' on the book and TV series of that name - but ultimately tells us nothing about Wolf Hall - the place - There is just no sense of where they lived and how they fitted into their local community.

However it is satisfactorily written and an easy reader and has fired my imagination to read more.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always David Loades has well researched and well written this book. I always enjoy reading his books as he generally presents an unbiased view of the Tudor period and the people we find within it. I have not previously read much about the Seymour family - and know solely the main 3 - Jane, Edward and Thomas. I knew a small amount about Edwards son due to having read books on the reign of Elizabeth but aside from that I knew little. This book doesn't focus on Jane to a large extent - as Loades has done this in other books. Instead it mainly looks at the two brothers - this is interesting as we seem to have very few books focusing on them solely - usually they come in either as a side show to Henry/Jane or to Elizabeth in Thomas's case.
This is probably not a book for those who already know a great deal about the family however as it simply doesn't have a great amount of detail - this is not the fault of Loades , I think there just is not enough source material. A good read however.

[Alex Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This history has been meticulously researched, and Loades is scrupulous about stating only what he can verify as fact (as opposed to biographers who, without any hard evidence, write about what various historical figures were thinking and feeling on specific occasions). The author's writing style is rather dry, especially in the first chapter, and he is not always interested in providing background context. Loades expects the reader to have a good knowledge of Tudor history, since he introduces figures like Elizabeth Barton without any explanatory information. Each of the Tudor chapters tends to focus on one member of the Seymour family, and I wondered if they had been written as stand-alone articles and then assembled in a book, since there is some repetition from chapter to chapter (e. g. In the section on Edward Seymour we learn about the events leading to the fall of his brother Thomas. In the chapter on Thomas, we go through these same events again.). Personally, I would have appreciated an index.

[Cidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this on the bookshelf in my parents home, where I still am, my father is a history buff. This is about the history of the Seymour family, their daughter Jane became Henry VIII's third wife who gave him the much longer for son and heir but unfortunately died a few days after giving birth. The Seymours played an integral part during the Tudor period from being associated with Henry VII through to Henry VIII, in whose life Edward Seymour played a very important part, through to the young Edward VI who tragically died at the age of 16 before he had chance to become a "full" king in his adult life and then through the other Seymours and the parts they played in the army and the government of the country.

It was quite a hard read as initally I was getting confused between the numerous Seymours, but then they thinned out through deaths so it became a tad easier!! I have filched this book from my father as I think I would like to re-read it in a while to firmly get those pesky Seymour men inbedded in my mind!

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A factual account of the Seymour family and their involvement with the Tudor dynasty.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good history of the Seymour family. Especially some of the lesser known members. Worth the read

[Karen Wenborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I really wanted to know - where exactly was Wolf Hall? :-) Not a bad book, filled in some gaps for me. A little staid.

[Helene Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review - This was a relatively good book, but I found it lacking in several places - it needed an index to find information, and more source discussion. However, the layout and chapter plan was good, and I liked how it was divided by members of the family rather than by chronology. A good introduction to the Seymour family, and how they interacted within the Tudor court.

General Subject/s - History / Biography / Tudors

Recommend? - Yes

Rating - 15/20

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was mostly lukewarm at best with this one, until I got to the sections about Edward Seymour. The majority of the book seems based on opinions that it rarely backs up with facts or examples, but it lost a good deal of the credibility it did have by calling Edward's wife "Lady Shelton." This wasn't just a one-time typo, either.
I did like that the book was divided into sections for each person involved (particularly since there was no index), in case you only wanted to read about certain people and not the entire family, and it covered Seymours that rarely get attention, which was nice.