‘A truly superb biography…Jessie Childs is a true scholar. She has been through a vast number of manuscript archives to recreate these 30 terrible years of English history…A poignant, vivid narrative.’
A. N. Wilson, Daily Telegraph

‘Rarely have I felt so utterly captivated by a history book. It is stunning! Jessie Childs is a major new talent. She brings her characters to life so vividly, and the narrative just flows, packed with amazing detail.  This, for me, is a surprisingly fresh view on a period with which I am very familiar.’
Alison Weir

‘This is a rumbustious tale and well worth the retelling but what makes this biography special is the quality of the writing. It is as fluid and engaging as the research is careful and penetrating…This is narrative history at its best and it is heartening to be able to recognize a fresh talent among the new generation of history writers.’
Derek Wilson, History Today

‘It is a virtue of Jessie Childs’s biography that she shows Surrey as he really was – vainglorious, violent, outspoken to the peril of himself and others, something of a preposterous figure at court by 1546 – yet retains empathy with him. She also analyses his poetry with a sensitive eye, giving us an unusual insight into a Tudor mind…Childs’s description of these complex manoeuvrings [at Henry’s court], as of the French wars, is excellent…this book opens a fascinating window on the mid-Tudor world.’
C.J. Sansom, The Guardian

‘One of the most fascinating men at Henry’s perilous court was the restless, gifted Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, the subject of Jessie Childs’s compelling new biography… Childs’s beautifully written and researched book, her first, explores with subtlety the forces that made and destroyed Surrey…Childs makes use of every scrap of evidence, creating an insightful portrait of an extraordinary man.’
Lucy Moore, Mail on Sunday

‘Such is the wealth of her material and the brilliance of her research – her knowledge of letters, ambassadorial dispatches, church records, inventories, hunting accounts and 16th century archives and chronicles is momentous – that this book clatters along like an epic gangster movie…so gripping…Childs is excellent at depicting the background details.’
Roger Lewis, Daily Express

'This dazzling biography of a flawed but fascinating man living in a dangerous age is her first book. Let's hope it's not her last.'
Keith Richmond, Tribune

‘…a fascinating story…[Childs] weaves the threads of his poetry into the overall description of his life whilst giving a faithful account of the difficulties and doubts that must remain. She is to be congratulated on a very readable and diligently researched book.’
Lucy Wooding, Literary Review

'Judging from her début with this riveting life of the brilliant, doomed Earl of Surrey, Jessie Childs is a rising star among historians. Just when we thought everything had been said about Henry VIII she makes us see him from a completely new angle - through the eyes of a poet aristocrat. Her scholarship is inspired and her prose sparkles.’
Desmond Seward

'A deservedly award-winning debut...Among its virtues are the skill with which she introduces absorbing essayettes on aspects of aristocratic life in Tudor England, ranging from marriage to what Surrey had for breakfast.'
The Guardian (paperback review)

'The snake-pit of Henrician politics is exposed in Jessie Childs's elegant biography of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey...In the process of debunking this romantic hero, Childs also offers plenty of empathetic insights into the 16th-century mind.'
The Independent (paperback review)

'Childs's riveting biography highlights the sheer ruthlessness of life at the top in Tudor England.'
Mail on Sunday (paperback review)

'Well-connected (son of the Duke of Norfolk), a favourite at court, a ridiculously rich dandy, a great rip-roarer and a notable poet, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, had everything, and Jessie Childs does him more than justice.'
Sunday Telegraph (paperback review)

'tell[s] the story of Surrey's life...stylishly and movingly.'
Professor G.W. Bernard, BBC History Magazine (paperback review)

'A balanced, full and learned biography.'
Contemporary Review 

'Compelling'
Yorkshire Post

'A brilliant biography'
East Anglian Daily Times

‘A detailed and vivid picture of the daily and seasonal life of the landed aristocracy of the time, as well as of the political scheming and backbiting which in Henry's last years were all too often fatal.’
The Scotsman

‘In her first book Jessie Childs gives a brilliant insight into the life of this dazzling man who was one of the foremost men in the royal court…This book is not just for history fans. It is easy to read and paints a vivid picture of the opulence and political intrigue of the age. Jessie Childs sheds new light on the workings of power in one of the most important eras in British history.’
Coventry Times

‘Jessie Childs' riveting biography paints a remarkable portrait of the maverick Tudor poet and politician.’
Books Quarterly

‘This authoritative but accessible biography sheds light on the life and times of this fascinating but relatively little-known figure.’
The Good Book Guide

‘I am not surprised Jessie Childs has been singled out as one of the most promising new historians in the land. This was a really captivating read from start to finish. If you have even a passing interest in the Tudor period, you’ll be gripped.’
Phil Sidnell, editor, The History Guild & Ancient & Medieval Book Club

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