Rivals in the Tudor Court (Tudor Court 2) by D.L. Bogdan
Kensington Paperback April 26, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0758242006
Review copy provided by the author, thank you!
The Burton Review Rating: 4 stars

The death toll in Henry VIII's England can be counted in the thousands. No one was more aware of this than Thomas Howard, third duke of Norfolk. Relying on his indomitable force of will, cleverness, and sheer good fortune, Thomas Howard manages to be one of the king's only intimates to survive an unforgettable reign of terror. This impeccably researched companion piece to "Secrets of the Tudor Court" chronicles the ambitious duke's life, loves, and remarkable capacity to endure. Before he was the king's uncle, before he was his nieces' ultimate betrayer, Thomas Howard was a hostage at the court of Henry VII while his father was imprisoned in the dreaded Tower of London. There he would marry the queen's sister, his forever princess Anne Plantagenet. While he founded a dynasty, his career as soldier and sailor brought him acclaim and the trust of the Tudors. But when unspeakable tragedy robs him of family and fortune, Thomas must begin again. Abandoning notions of love, Thomas seeks out an advantageous match with the fiery Elizabeth Stafford, daughter of the duke of Buckingham. Clever, willful, and uncompromising in principle, the young duchess falls victim to a love she cannot deny. When Thomas takes on a mistress, the vulnerable Bess Holland, Duchess Elizabeth prepares to fight for all she holds dear. Only then does she learn she faces a force darker than anything she could ever have imagined, an obsessive love that neither she nor Bess can rival.

Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, was a key player both behind the scenes and not-so-behind the scenes during Henry VIII's reign. Tudor fans recognize his name as the one responsible for putting his two nieces under the King's nose, ripe for the plucking. After Henry tired of mistresses Mary Boleyn and Bessie Blount, Thomas saw that Henry had eyes for Mary Boleyn's sister, Anne. And of course the rest is history.. Anne becomes queen, fails to give Henry the male heir and is summarily executed on trumped up charges of adultery. Another niece becomes available, Kitty Howard, who moves on become another Queen Catherine to King Henry.

But who was this man, the formidable Thomas Norfolk? Behind the political movements and shrewd judgement, he is one powerful noble who managed to escape the axe, although he came close and was saved by Henry's death alone. In D.L. Bogdan's previous book, Secrets of the Tudor Court, Thomas's daughter Mary Howard was the focus of the story but the story held frightening glimpses of Thomas himself, who is better known simply as Norfolk.

Why did he seem to be so cruel to his family? He beat his wife, his children, and paid his servants to do it some more. Not a very likable creature indeed, and D.L. Bogdan take us back to Thomas's beginning as a child struggling to make up for his short stature. His desire to be the best soldier earns him recognition, and Queen Catherine of Aragon favors him as well as King Henry does. He always wants more though, and he brings his family down whomever stands in his way.

Bogdan brings us the story of Thomas as he becomes more and more powerful, while also looking at the women in his life. We are treated to a never before seen look at Thomas Howard as he is undeniably happy with his first wife Anne Plantagenet until tragedy strikes again and again. The hardened man takes another wife with Elizabeth Stafford and we hope that perhaps he can come full circle, but he becomes more and more hateful, especially as he takes on a mistress, Bess Holland. We get the point of views of Thomas, his wife Elizabeth, and his mistress Bess, as they all struggle to maintain their wicked triangle of love and hate in Thomas's cruel world. With the intermingling of their lives, Bogdan presents a page turning story of loyalty, treachery and ambition giving us the Tudor flair that fans love.

Secrets of The Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Kensington; Original edition (April 27, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0758241993
Review copy provided by the author, thank you!
The Burton Review Rating:

When young Mary Howard receives the news that she will be leaving her home for the grand court of King Henry VIII, to attend his mistress Anne Boleyn, she is ecstatic. Everything Anne touches seems to turn to gold, and Mary is certain Anne will one day become Queen. But Mary has also seen the King's fickle nature and how easily he discards those who were once close to him. . .



Discovering that she is a pawn in a carefully orchestrated plot devised by her father, the duke of Norfolk, Mary dare not disobey him. Yet despite all of her efforts to please him, she too falls prey to his cold wrath. Not until she becomes betrothed to Harry Fitzroy, the Duke of Richmond and son to King Henry VIII, does Mary finds the love and approval she's been seeking. But just when Mary believes she is finally free of her father, the tides turn. Now Mary must learn to play her part well in a dangerous chess game that could change her life--and the course of history.

This is another great read to add to your Tudor fiction library. It is full of the Tudor speculation and gossip that Tudor fans have come to enjoy and love, but this is not told in an over the top fashion. It is fast paced and intriguing, as the Tudor courts and the events of the demise of Henry VIII's wives are merely a backdrop for Mary Howard's story. Although an avid fan of Tudor history, this particular story is new to me, as I have never registered the fact that the shrewd and cunning Thomas Howard, known to many as simply Norfolk, had a daughter named Mary Howard.

The story begins with Mary Howard's vicious birth, and it is vicious because Norfolk is busy beating up Mary's mother Elizabeth Stafford when she is in labor. The entire novel is full of Norfolk abusing the women in his life. His wife, his daughter, and then being the one main force behind both of his niece's Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard wedding Henry, and eventually their demise. Mary Howard grows up under the thumb of her father, and she finds some comfort with her brother Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, until she realizes he is a chip off the old block. Initially, though, her brother and she enjoyed sharing poems with other literate members of the court. Through all the events of the wives of Henry, Mary is watching and trembling with fear throughout, but it is told with her fresh point of view and made me really care for Mary. It was a sad life for Mary, being unloved, until she finally is wedded to the admirable Henry Fitzroy, who was none other that the king's own illegitimate son. Just when Mary thinks she will be able to have a life of her own and have babies, which is her deepest wish, her father decides that although they can marry each other, they cannot actually be together till he deems fit.

Mary watches her mother being beaten by Norfolk, and eventually the abuse moves towards Mary as well. These were hard scenes to get through, and displayed a lot of madness and cruelty of Norfolk. Mary is used as eyes and ears for Norfolk at court, and she witnesses the political machinations behind all the evil that occurs at the Tudor Court. It was not all Henry VIII's doing, it had a lot of Thomas Howard's hands in it. This is not a depiction that is any way favorable on Thomas Howard by any stretch of the imagination, but makes one wonder what really went on behind the closed doors of the Tudor courts. Along with the relationship with her family, we are also subject to Mary's friendships with her father's long-standing mistress Bess Holland, and with friends at court such as Margaret Douglas who was a niece of Henry VIII constantly in the middle of court issues.

This was an impressive debut for Bogdan, covering a lot of material within the myriads of rumors and gossip of the courts, and I enjoyed it immensely. This is a wonderful addition to my Tudor fiction library, though not for those who would prefer more fact than fiction with regards specifically to the Tudors and the mention of some of the rumors that have since been believed as false. The reason they were included is because the author felt it would add to the atmosphere of the Tudor courts, since most of the rumors were believed to be fact at the time. The novel covers the reign of the queens Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr, ending with Edward VI on the throne. As a complete and total Tudor junkie, I found that it was full of suspense, drama, and garnered my admiration for Lady Mary Howard, making me want to look for more information on this young woman who was witness to much of the turmoil of the Tudor courts, and daughter to the creator of many of the secrets of the Tudor courts.

This was my first read specifically for the Tudor Mania Reading Challenge which starts today. See the Challenge post and learn how you can win a book of your choice. Arleigh of historical-fiction.com and I read this at the same time and we were emailing each other back and forth about a lot of the events in the book. It is a great group read! Her review is here, as part of the Tudor Mania Challenge, so be sure to look for that.

Also, please visit the recent interview I posted with this author, which includes a giveaway for the Autographed finished copy of this book. If you like Tudor fiction, this is an absolute must read for you.

It is with extreme pleasure that I welcome debut author, D.L. Bogdan to The Burton Review. I read this novel recently and will have my review posting here on May 1st as the kickoff review for my Tudor Mania Reading Challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel that was told from a different point of view of the Tudor courts. Most Tudor readers recognize the title Norfolk, or the name Thomas Howard, because he was the 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard, a fearsome political force behind getting his nieces' Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard to the throne as Queens of England. The story that Bogdan gives us is through the eyes of Norfolk's daughter, Lady Mary Howard.  I always enjoy learning more about secondary characters of the Tudor court, and this Mary Howard was married to King Henry's illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy. Stay tuned for my review, but for now, let's hear about Bogdan's journey with Mary Howard:

What inspired you to tell the story of Mary Howard? Where had you first encountered her?

-I encountered Mary as a character who stood on the very fringes of the cast of several Tudor novels. The person who really fascinated me was her father, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard. But I wanted a gentler window into that history and found that telling a story that has become familiar to many through her unique perspective might be an interesting twist.

How hard was it to research for information on Mary Howard, as she is one of those more obscure members of the Tudor courts?

-It was like a wild goose chase but I ran into a lot of helpful people along the way, particularly Dr. David Head, who wrote THE EBBS AND FLOWS OF FORTUNE; the life of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. He helped steer me in some very interesting directions! Every source I encountered led me to more; I found that utilizing a lot of original sources, such as letters from the people involved (Eustace Chapuys, Surrey, Norfolk, his wife, and Thomas Cromwell) as well as transcripts from the various trials the most helpful. It really was one of the joyous processes of my life!


Mary is portrayed as having a close relationship with her cousins Queen Anne and Queen Catherine Howard. Have you come across evidence that this may be true? Was she a lady-in-waiting to both of these queens?

-Yes, Mary was a lady in waiting to both of her cousins. How close she was to them in actuality, I really am not sure. I inferred because her father was such a key figure in the lives of both of these women that she would have been particularly involved with them as well. This is where I had to step in as an entertainer rather than historian and fill in some gaps!

Although you give a specific reason in the novel, why do you think Mary didn't marry after her first husband died?

-I believe her brother Surrey had a lot to do with it. He stridently objected to any union with the Seymours, which seemed Mary's only documented prospect, and as Mary appeared to be a dutiful member of the Howard family, she may have been too intimidated by the strong personalities around her to make another match.


Your depiction of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, shows signs of tenderness at rare times, yet he is a very dark character. How true to life do you think this portrayal is?

-There is a lot more information about Thomas Howard's personality than Mary's. Through Dr. Head's work, as well as letters from Eustace Chapuys, ambassador to Charles V and an intimate of Henry VIII's court, I was able to discern a great deal about the complexities of the duke. The most helpful sources of all were letters exchanged between him and his fiery wife, Elizabeth, as well has her exchanges with Thomas Cromwell, along with the testimony given by her, his mistress Bess Holland, and Mary herself for his trial.

Although your novel includes some of the famous myths regarding the Tudor courts, such as Anne Boleyn's sixth finger, what are your personal thoughts on them?

-Honestly, I think a lot of those myths were probably stirred up at the time for sheer sensationalism, just as any contemporary public figure is found subject to them today. Fact and fiction seem to be inexorably intertwined in the myths and legends of the Tudor court and I incorporated some of them for the sake of entertainment.

You mention George and Jane Boleyn having a son. He is rarely mentioned in Tudor fiction and I would love to know if you remember where you had first picked up this fact.

-There are some references to it in other works of fiction, as well as a vague reference to it in an online family tree; however it listed the child as "baby boy Boleyn" so if there really was a child, I assume it likely did not survive to adulthood. It is true there are barely any mentions of a child in more well known sources which may make it just another Tudor myth . . .

Have you been lucky enough to have visited England? If so, what was your favorite event of the visit?

-I did, years before I ever knew it would be the subject of my novels (thank God I'm compulsive enough to take notes anyway!). My favorite part of the visit was Westminster Abbey. It made me feel so small and a little insignificant under the weight of so much history . . . but it was exhilarating to stand where so many key figures in history stood!


Do you have a favorite wife of Henry VIII that you enjoy reading about?

-That's a tough one. I find each of his wives extremely fascinating in their own right. I admire Catherine of Aragon's uncompromising beliefs and Anne Boleyn's sharp wit. I find Jane Seymour's timid but compassionate nature endearing, and was stirred to pity for Anne of Cleves, who was so far from home and so unwanted. Catherine Howard's naivete and typical teen antics were at once delightful and tragic, and Catherine Parr's intelligence and ability to survive what most didn't at her time was inspiring. So, the short answer would have been to say I like them all!


Who are some of your favorite Tudor period authors?

-I adore Robin Maxwell's work, Alison Weir, along with every one's favorite courtly author Jean Plaidy.

What is next in the works for your writing? Any more Tudor inspired novels coming our way?

Yes, I do have some works up my sleeve. In 6-9 months my second book, as yet untitled, will be released by Kensington, which is about Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, his wife Elizabeth, and his mistress Bess Holland, and told from all 3 perspectives. I am especially proud of this work because I had a wealth of research to aid me and I feel it is very historically accurate. There are also a few other projects I am working on, so this isn't the last you will hear from me!

~~
I was so excited to hear she is working on her next Tudor novel! I am thrilled to have another successful Tudor author to look forward to. And I am even more excited to offer my followers a chance to WIN a SIGNED finished copy of Secrets of the Tudor Courts by D.L. Bogdan, courtesy of this very generous author! USA and Canada residents ONLY.

All you have to do is tell me what intrigues you about Tudor fiction!

Comment on this post with your email address.
+2 for a graphic link on your sidebar to this post
+1 for a twitter or Facebook share to this post

Giveaway ends May 14! Good Luck!! My review is posted here.
Edited to add that Jennifer at Rundpinne was the winner, congrats!

I stand with Frances now. At the other executions - imagine I can say that, as I have attended so many now!- I would bury my head in Surrey's shoulder and clutch his hand as I heard that sound, that sound that never really evacuates the consciousness, steel cutting through flesh and bone and muscle. Now I must be here for his wife; I must be the strong one.
- page 276 Advance copy