The House of Treason

Robert Hutchinson made his debut as a popular historian with the critically acclaimed and commercially successful LAST DAYS OF HENRY VIII. His biography of Sir Francis Walsingham, ELIZABETH'S SPY MASTER was published in 2006. This new biography works as both a sequel and 'prequel' to his existing books, telling the dramatic story of the Dukes of Norfolk. The richest and most powerful noble family in Britain, after the king himself, they regarded themselves as the power behind the throne and regularly tried to act as 'kingmakers'. Thomas Howard, the second duke, fought for Richard III at Bosworth and was imprisoned in the Tower by Henry VII. A brilliant politician, he negotiated his way out and became a key minister in the new Tudor regime. Late in life he commanded the English army that annihilated the Scots at Flodden in 1513. However, his descendants were a louche lot of plotters and conspirators; Henry VIII and Elizabeth I both beheaded a Norfolk for treason (although another led the Royal Navy against the Spanish Armada). The rise and fall of this mighty dynasty sheds new light on the reigns of Henry VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth as well as providing enormous entertainment.