The House of Grey: Friends and Foes of Kings

by Melita Thomas

The Grey family was one of medieval England's most important dynasties. They were were on intimate terms with the monarchs and interwoven with royalty by marriage. They served the kings of England as sheriffs, barons, and military leaders. Weaving the lives of these men and women from a single family, often different allegiances, into a single narrative, provides a vivid picture of the English medieval and Tudor court, reflecting how the personal was always political as individual relationships and rivalries for land, power, and money drove national events.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, Biography

352 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Tony Riches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melita Thomas has done an impressive job of navigating us through this complex story, as ever since the Grey family arrived with William the Conqueror, they seem to have been in and out of favour - more often as the victims of circumstance.

Thomas and Richard Grey must have thought their luck had changed at last when their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, caught the eye of King Edward IV. Thomas became the Marquess of Dorset and a wealthy man, then struggled to remain silent when Richard III announced the 'disappearance' of their half-brothers from the Tower.

Following the story of the rise of the Tudors from the Grey point of view offers a fresh perspective on events. There are several places in this book where things I'd thought odd make sense within the context of the Grey family story. For example, Dorset's midnight departure from Henry Tudor's camp in France might have been a gesture to cover his options if the Tudor's invasion failed.

A memorable scene in this intriguing book is chronicler John Foxe's account of the execution of Henry Grey at the Tower. A man Grey owes money to interrupts the proceedings to ask when he's going to be paid, and Henry shouts, 'Alas, do not trouble me now!' Then Mary I’s Chaplain, Hugh Weston, asks Henry if he'd be willing to convert to Catholicism. Henry shoves the priest down the scaffold steps, and goes to his death with his debts unpaid but his faith intact.

This is an engaging and well-researched history of the rise and fall of one of the most unlucky medieval families, which finally puts their struggle into context. The death of Lady Jane Grey is handled with sensitivity and helped me understand why her family acted as they did. An excellent book which I highly recommend.

Tony Riches

[Heidi Malagisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many noble or royal families that truly were the backbone of the English society and that could help or hinder the monarchy. One such family was the Greys, who started as a baronial family and rose through the ranks by good marriages and staying loyal to those who were in power. Of course, when one rises high, there is also the risk of falling low spectacularly, which happens when Lady Jane Grey becomes Queen of England for a mere 9 days. The story of the house of Grey is complex, yet it has never been told in its entirety, until now. This extraordinary family saga is told in Melita Thomas’s latest book, “The House of Grey: Friends and Foes of Kings”.

I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. Melita Thomas is the co-founder and editor of Tudor Times and this is her second book. This particular book caught my eye as I did not know much about the Grey family, besides the story of Lady Jane Grey and her sisters.

The story of the House of Grey begins with a rivalry between Owain Glyndwr and Lord Grey of Ruthyn over throwing off English dominance in Wales. Not a great start for a family who would become loyal to the crown of England. It was during the Wars of the Roses and the Battle of Northampton when Edmund Grey switched from supporting the Lancasters to supporting the Yorks, splitting the Grey family apart for a time. It was when Sir John Grey died at the Second Battle of St. Albans that the Greys truly supported the Yorkist crown since his widow, Lady Elizabeth Woodville, married King Edward IV. It is here that Thomas tracks the road to the crown through Elizabeth Woodville’s two Grey sons, Thomas and Richard.

Melita Thomas shows how the Grey boys made names for themselves; Richard Grey being executed while Richard of Gloucester was Lord Protector and Thomas Grey turning rebel and joining the Tudor cause to put Henry Tudor on the throne. Thomas Grey married Cecily Bonville and it was through their line that the Greys inherited the title of Marquis of Dorset. The title would pass onto each son until it reached Henry Grey, who’s ambitions for his daughter would prove fatal.

Thomas navigates the tumultuous times of the Greys to show how truly colorful the family was, from tiffs with fellow landowners to grand fallouts with kings and queens. The Grey family was able to restore themselves time after time to the monarchy’s good favor, no matter how low they fell. The Greys and their influence did not just reach England, but other corners of Europe as well, which is rather remarkable to read all about. Thomas gives the reader an opportunity to understand the roller coaster dynamics of the Grey family and the political atmosphere of the royal courts of different monarchs. The times that the Grey family lived in was one of great change and they were all along for the ride.

I found this book rather engaging and utterly fascinating. It is meticulously researched and you can tell that Melita Thomas had a passion for the subject she was writing about. Many people only know the story of Lady Jane Grey and her immediate family, but I think that this book paints a vivid picture of a complex family who survived the reigns of medieval and Tudor kings and queens. If you want to a delightful in-depth dive into the lives of the Greys, I highly recommend you read, “The House of Grey: Friends and Foes of Kings” by Melita Thomas.

[Gareth Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly researched, panoramic view of Tudor Britain through the story of a remarkable family - the Greys - who produced two queens, in the form of a widowed Grey, Elizabeth Woodville, and then the house's most famous daughter, Lady Jane. To this account, Melita Thomas brings a wealth of knowledge - her grasp of the complex genealogies of the Greys and their contemporaries is, for instance, expert and well-deployed. She also, happily, includes a shrewdly analytical assessment of Tudor Ireland, a kingdom and lordship inexcusably overlooked in many modern accounts of the Tudor century.

For those uninitiated into the lore and spectacle of the later Middle Ages and the early modern monarchy, some of "The House of Grey" may prove daunting, specifically at the offset when the family tree spreads its roots in the Wars of the Roses. Thomas deals well with putting the early Greys in their context and while those unfamiliar with the labyrinthine nature of gentry and aristocratic family networks in the 15th century may feel overwhelmed in this particular section, for those who know the period the early sections of "The House of Grey" are a superb, confident balancing of the topic with its wider historical context.

Between Elizabeth Woodville and Jane Grey, Thomas offers her readers a fine and confident history which will delight Tudor enthusiasts by offering a fresh perspective on the age of the Lancasters, Yorks, and early Tudors. The Greys' experiences at the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII prove just as interesting as the tragic sequence that catapulted one of them to the throne with the death of Edward VI.

[Cathleen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I'm in awe of this author. Brilliantly researched. Love all the fine minute of The House of Grey. Some historians don't give the whole picture from the evidence but I believe, Thomas does. I'm fascinated by this turbulent period and always excited when I learn something new.

[historic_chronicles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Grey family were one of the most important medieval dynasties of the Tudor Era. From their earliest days, these noble individuals built on close connections with royalty in order to further themselves in the world.

It was during the Wars of the Roses when the Grey family would experience a meteoric rise when the widowed mother of Thomas and Richard Grey, Elizabeth Woodville, caught the eye of the York King Edward IV and became Queen of England.

But, like many before them who experienced fortune's favour they were to suffer tragedy through usurpation, the consequences of receiving or losing favour from a Tudor King and the dramatic downfall of Lady Jane Grey's Queenship that would shatter the family.

In this insightful and deeply researched book, Thomas tackles the complexities of exploring those who had much to lose but everything to gain during the turbulent years of the Wars of the Roses and the Tudors.

I often felt as though I had a prime panoramic view over the events, watching everything unfold at a thrilling pace.

Thomas has an engaging style in which she writes along with a welcome level of humour and I found it very difficult to put down the book.

The House of Grey is genealogy history written at its best and I urge those of you with an interest in the Wars of the Roses and the Tudors to read this book for a fascinating insight from a fresh perspective.

Thank you so much to Philip @amberleypublishing for sending me a copy of this book to review!

[Pam Shelton-Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read about Lady Jane Grey when I was very young and she has been an interest of mine for a long time. This interest would later expand to the Grey family as a whole, especially after I found I had a descent from Grey of Codnor and Grey of Wilton. This book is very well researched and written in an easy-to-read manner. As we travel through the turbulent years of English history with the Grey family, the focus is kept on details of that family. I'm more pro-Richard III than the author, though she does present a fairly even-handed view of that period and her arguments are very sound. I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating book.