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The House of Dudley

A New History of Tudor England. A TIMES Book of the Year 2022

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The House of Dudley

By: Joanne Paul
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Told for the very first time is the true story of the secret royal family.

Each Tudor monarch made their name with a Dudley by their side - or by crushing one beneath their feet. The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII, but were sacrificed to the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudleys lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I. Under Elizabeth I, the family were once again at the centre of power, and would do anything to remain there . . .

With three generations of felled favourites, what was it that caused this family to keep rising so high and falling so low? Here, for the first time, is the story of England's Borgias, a noble house competing for proximity to the throne through cunning, adultery and sheer audacity, revealing some of the period's most talented, intelligent and cunning individuals.

© Joanne Paul 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 16th Century Europe Great Britain Historical Modern Politics & Activism Royalty Tudor England Middle Ages

Critic Reviews

A tour-de-force of Tudor history, as seen through the eyes of a family with a front-row view of almost every major political event in sixteenth-century England. Remarkable (Dan Jones, Sunday Times bestselling author of Powers and Thrones)
Exciting and immersive. An immensely entertaining history, capturing in full Tudor brilliance the cut-throat glamour of the English throne and the most audacious family to play its game
House of Dudley is a full-blooded affair, as good on the horrors of war as it is on the soft power of the Dudley women, and written in a lively, episodic style that presents each Dudley as a foil to the monarch they served (Jessie Childs)
Breathes new life into an old and familiar Tudor story. [She] negotiates the labyrinth of Tudor politics with skill, producing a book much more comprehensible and illuminating than others I've read . . . It's delightful, a joy to read

I am hugely impressed by The House of Dudley and by the depths of research.
This is a pacy narrative, vividly written, that makes you want to read on and on.
Joanne Paul is a major new talent in the field and I eagerly await her next book

(Alison Weir)
This is riveting stuff: death, desire, power and scandal. Paul has made the most of it, producing a well written and historically grounded page-turner . . . Game of Thrones looks tame compared with the real-life machinations of the Dudleys and the Tudors
A twist on the Tudors . . . Enormously entertaining - a sheer joy to read
A hugely entertaining history of three generations of the Dudley family, who dominated the Tudor court
A thrilling and deeply researched study of power and conspiracy: the rise and fall of the other Tudor dynasty. The House of Dudley illuminates the fascinating men and women who almost became kings and queens in their own right (Simon Sebag-Montefiore)
Vivid, innovative and authoritative. I could not recommend The House of Dudley more highly. It's a real lesson in how to revitalise the writing of Tudor history (Sarah Gristwood)
All stars
Most relevant
It took me a while to appreciate this excellent story of the Dudley family. In the 100 years of their service to the crown… the personal fortunes and reputations were won and lost by successive decedents… ending with Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester.
What I really liked was seeing the lives of the Tudor sovereigns themselves in the background as the Dudley family tried to raise the family name to a higher status.
They nearly succeeded and the Epilogue was excellent as the ending.
The narrator did a good job as she was there to tell the story and not to act the part of any of the historical people.

The Dudley Persistence against the odds

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There was clearly not enough historical information about the Dudley family, so this is really just another history of the Tudors, with big gaps and jumps in time. Narration is bland and lacks tonal skill. Disappointing.

Sparse substance, weak writing.

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