This is the story of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. The book is told in the first person perspective by three people: Thomas Howard, his wife Elizabeth Stafford Howard, and his mistress, Bess Holland. One of the things I like about historical fiction is the way it takes facts and enables the reader to experience the events. In this case, the reader is able to get in the heads of the characters and experience their joys, their griefs, their frustrations. It made them all more human, flawed as we all are, and not just characters on a page. The author did a good job of researching the odd details about Thomas Howard's life and presenting them in a way that may not have been entirely realistic but was still believable. And, as usual, it made me dig into the history a bit deeper. ( )

Initially I didn't plan to read this book because of the Mills&Boon style cover and the romancey description - I'm glad I changed my mind because, fortunately, neither accurately represents this story. The book follows the life of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, his two marriages and his changing fortunes at court. The book gave me a very different view of Thomas Howard, not necessarily a sympathetic one, but certainly a far more complex picture than the usual portrayal of a ruthless aging courtier who used two of his nieces as pawns for his ambitious plans. I liked the author's interpretation of the main characters and their motivations and the story held my attention from beginning to end. I do take points off though for the absence of an author's note. ( )

3.5 Stars

Told from the alternating viewpoints of the three main characters, D.L. Bogdan's Rivals in the Tudor Court follows the lives of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, his second wife Elizabeth Stafford, daughter of the powerful Duke of Buckingham, and his mistress Bess Holland. While Thomas Howard is often featured in Henry VIII-era historical fiction, he is rarely featured quite as prominently as he is in this novel. His wife and mistress, on the other hand, make only brief appearances (if any) in Tudor-era historical fiction. As a result, Bogdan delivers a unique perspective on the people and events that helped shape and define the Tudor-era.

The primary strength of this novel rests with the story itself, which kept me engaged for the duration of the book. Bogdan's characterizations are also particularly well done, especially that of Thomas Howard who, although easy to dislike for his cruelty to his wife, also manages to come across as a sympathetic figure. Elizabeth Stafford is portrayed as an intelligent young woman who deserved much better from her husband, while Bess Holland's naivety shines through. I also liked the way Anne Plantagenet, Thomas Howard's first wife, was portrayed as having an other-worldly air about her. Whether or not this is an accurate portrayal of Anne Plantagenet, it does make her a memorable character. The main weakness of the book, at least from my perspective, lies in the ending, which I felt too rushed and short of much needed detail. For example, given his life was a big focus of the novel, the lack of attention to Thomas Howard's fall from grace was somewhat surprising, and I was a little disappointed this it didn't receive more coverage in the book. It is my hope that this topic is covered in more depth in Bogdan's earlier novel, Secrets of the Tudor Court, which features Thomas Howard and Elizabeth Stafford's daughter Mary as the central character. Lastly, I wish the novel had included an author's note. While I'm familiar with the time period in which this novel is set, I know little beyond the basics of Thomas Howard and next to nothing about Elizabeth Stafford or Bess Holland. For this reason I would have appreciated a note explaining where the author deviated from known fact.

Overall, I feel the strengths of the story and characterizations outweigh any of the novel's weaknesses and is well worth a read, especially for fans of Tudor-era historical fiction. ( )

As a child Thomas was brought up to know the importance of the Howard family. He takes it to heart and makes advancing his family his life mission and soon his star is rising in the court of Henry VIII. His marriage to outspoken Elizabeth Stafford is nothing but peaceful and is made worse when Thomas supports his niece Anne to get more power for the family. Then Thomas finds Bess Holland, who is the very opposite of his wife.

I was very curious to read this book because I didn’t know that much about Thomas Howard as a person. And he really wasn’t likeable guy!

I knew he was firstly married to Anne Plantagenet but I didn’t know they had and lost four children. Their marriage seems to be a happy one but the loss of their children hardened him and made him fear losing the people he cared about.

Elizabeth Stafford wanted to marry another man and wasn’t happy when told to marry the much older Thomas Howard. She soon starts to care about him but he’s not easy man to live with and has short temper at times.

There were times, okay the whole book, when I just wanted to bang their heads together to get some sense! At first I felt like there was point made that every Howard man is evil and only thinks about power and the whole killing the dog thing. But I liked the relationship between Thomas and Anne and it was nice that he was happy for awhile.

And I really want to know if it’s true that Thomas ordered his servants to beat his wife? I mean seriously!

The book is told from 3 point of views: Thomas, Elizabeth and Bess. I liked Bess’s parts less because it was mostly Bess whining about Thomas being away or that she doesn’t have husband and children.

In the end it was entertaining book but I still feel it lacked it something. Or maybe Thomas annoyed me way to much… ( )

To be honest I'm surprised this book got so many good reviews!

I have read A LOT of historical fiction and this has to one of the first where I couldn't wait to finish not because I enjoyed it but because it was hard work.

For starters; the title confused me. I understood the rivalry between the Duchess of Norfolk and Bess, and even between Norfolk and other courtiers, but hardly any of the events taken place between the 3 principle characters happens at court!
The book reads more like a biopic of the duke of Norfolk than anything else.
The historical background these characters live on almost nearly goes unmentioned except for the odd paragraph summarising the changes in religious practices and the radical changes made within the Tudor court and it's effect on the succession.
It felt rushed and badly done.
I found a true lack of detail, both in historical interest and as to a sense of the times.
ALSO, why is every female character 'in tears' on every page!
So frustrating and disappointing when there are so many authors writing about the same time period and characters who do it much better justice. ( )