Christine Hartweg

John Dudley Christine Hartweg

"A meticulously researched, highly readable biography which brings John Dudley out of the shadows and into the limelight that this fascinating Tudor man deserves." - Claire Ridgway, The Anne Boleyn Files

John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1504-1553), one of the most notorious figures of Tudor England, is best known as the father-in-law of Lady Jane Grey, whom he helped to place on the English throne for nine days. However, he was also a courtier and diplomat, a general and de facto regent, as well as a patron of art and exploration and a devoted family man; and in the past decades his image has undergone significant changes from villain to talented statesman. The father of Queen Elizabeth's friend Robert Dudley and grandfather of the poet Philip Sidney led a colourful life at the courts of Henry VIII and Edward VI which is vividly retold in this fully documented biography.