The Uncrowned Kings of England by Derek Wilson
REVIEWED BY JOHN
GUY
THE
UNCROWNED KINGS OF
ENGLAND:
The Black
Legend of the Dudleys
by
Derek Wilson
Constable
pp. 416
Historians avidly seek fresh
ways of telling stories that people know and care about. Derek Wilson has found
a marvellous vehicle for this. His theme is the Dudleys, one of the families
closest to four out of five Tudor monarchs. For a century, they bestrode court
and country, privy to the innermost controversy. All played for the highest
possible stakes and three of them were executed for
treason.
Edmund Dudley, a brilliant
London lawyer recruited by Henry VII, led the way. The first Tudor’s
policy of “law and order” relied on fiscal intimidation. Henry bound
over the rich and powerful to “good behaviour” while Dudley trawled
for legal infringements. Anyone caught out had to buy an expensive pardon.
Dudley and his associate, Richard Empson, were reviled as the Tudor equivalent
of the Krays. Wilson claims this is unjust, since Henry VII ordered everything.
Probably he did, but Henry VIII won instant popularity for beheading his
father’s minions.
Edmund’s
son, John, attempted to learn from this. A soldier-courtier, he rose steadily
through military service on land and sea. He deftly sidestepped the falls of
Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell and was raised to the peerage. Although a man of
action and a skilled administrator rather than an intellectual, he enjoyed the
company of scholars and converted to Protestantism. Naturally he kept his views
quiet. Henry VIII might have quarrelled with the Pope, but he loathed
heretics.
John Dudley stretched his wings
in Edward VI’s reign, allying with Archbishop Cranmer to make the
Protestant Reformation official.
Full review at timesonline.co.uk >>>
Posted: Wed - February 2, 2005 at 10:17 AM