The House of Dudley

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

Spectator

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

Sunday Times

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

The Times, BOOK OF THE WEEK

Joanne Paul's account of this family is rich and compelling. She manages to hit that sweet spot where scholarly history overlaps with dramatic storytelling; she conjures up the look and feel of Tudor life, down to the clothes, the medicines and the furniture, while also being a skilful filler-in of political background . . . Whether or not you have ever succumbed to Mantelmania, you will find yourself drawn in, fascinated, and richly informed

Telegraph

An enthralling read told by Paul with great verve and an eye for the telling detail . . . The family's complex history is concisely and compellingly related

Literary Review

The crowning jewel in its genre . . . I can't recommend this book enough. Unputdownable

Lindsey Fitzharris

When reading Joanne Paul's lively history of the house of Dudley, it is impossible not to be reminded of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy . . . Paul uses the experiences of the Dudleys to light up odd corners and backroom spaces of Tudor palace life

Mail on Sunday

Joanne Paul chronicles the meteoric rise and deadly fall of the Dudleys

BBC History Magazine

Joanne Paul reveals how the might of the Tudor dynasty was built on the blood and sweat of three generations of another family - the Dudleys

BBC History Magazine

A hugely entertaining history of three generations of the Dudley family, who dominated the Tudor court

The Times

Hugely entertaining

The Times, Best Books of Summer 2022

Fascinating

Catherine Fletcher, History Today

A twist on the Tudors . . . Enormously entertaining - a sheer joy to read

The Times, '25 BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2022'

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

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

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

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

Visceral and illuminating. The extraordinary House of Dudley is the Tudor Game of Thrones. Paul has produced a painstakingly detailed first book with spirit and verve

The Wall Street Journal

Captivating and thought-provoking . . . Sheds immense light onto this often-overlooked family

Royal Studies Journal

Brilliant and lucid. This is an original and illuminating work that should be compulsory

Suzannah Lipscomb

Praise for Joanne Paul

Brimming with power struggles, ambition and intrigue, this is the untold story of one of the most notorious families of the Tudor era. A spectacular achievement

Nicola Tallis, critically-acclaimed author of 'Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch'

Absorbing, meticulously researched and expertly executed. A tale of intrigue and manipulation that will lead you through the very dark corridors of Tudor history

Lindsey Fitzharris, acclaimed author of 'The Butchering Art'