Henry VIII's Last Victim by Jessie Childs

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    I am not the first nor, I hope, the last to write about the Earl of Surrey and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the biographers and scholars that have gone before me. Deserved of particular recognition are George Frederick Nott, whose work of 1815 remains, despite some romantic conclusions, an outstanding body of work, and William A. Sessions, whose literary analysis, in particular, is unrivalled. Even the most cursory of glances at my notes will reveal the enormous obligation and gratitude I owe them.
    My profound thanks go to His Grace the Duke of Norfolk for allowing me to read and cite his manuscripts at Arundel Castle. It was a privilege to work there and I am immensely grateful to Dr John Martin Robinson, Librarian to the Duke of Norfolk, Mrs Sara Rodger, Assistant Librarian, Mrs Heather Warne and Miss Pamela Taylor, Archivists, for making it such an enjoyable experience. The Marquess of Bath graciously permitted me to cite materials from his archives at Longleat House, for which I am most grateful. Henry Bedingfeld welcomed me warmly to his home at Oxburgh Hall and allowed me to read his manuscripts there. Delving into his trunk of rarely seen manuscripts was one of the most exciting moments of my research and I would also like to extend my thanks to Mrs Bedingfeld for her hospitality and fortifying cups of tea and biscuits. I am very grateful to Dr Anthony Smith of the Historical Manuscripts Commission for kindly putting me in touch with them in the first place.
    I was continually heartened by the altruism of the libraries and institutions that I encountered during my research and would like to thank the archivists and staff of the British Library, the National Archives, the Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Pembroke College, Cambridge, the Corporation of London Record Office, the College of Arms, the House of Lords Record Office, the Norfolk Record Office, the Institute of Historical Research and the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
    I have profited greatly from the advice of Brett Dolman, Curator, Historic Royal Palaces, who graciously answered all my queries about the Earl of Surrey’s possible escape attempt from the Tower of London. Robin Self, Chairman of the Friends of St Michael’s Church, Framlingham, was a genial guide to the church and Nicholas Nottidge was kind enough to share his expertise on the magnificent tombs there. Thanks too to Mrs John Brown for welcoming me to her home at Kenninghall and allowing me to take photographs.
    I am enormously grateful to Matthew Fletcher MS FRCS, Medical Director and Consultant Urologist, Brighton and Sussex University Hospital Trust, for reading the Duke of Norfolk’s exhaustive medical complaints and advising on the state of his health. I also wish to thank him and his wife Sue more personally for their support and encouragement.
    Richard Carter, Nicola Fletcher and John Holland (Quintus’ Latin Translations) provided invaluable services in translation, while Sarah Stewart-Richardson generously advised on the practicalities of picture research. I am immensely grateful to Johanna McDonald, Richard Morton Jack, James and Nicola Fletcher, Jane Childs and Anna and Mark Richards, who read my typescript, offered constructive criticism and saved me from numerous errors and infelicities of speech. Those that remain are entirely my own responsibility.
    I am fortunate to have a wonderful agent in Andrew Lownie and I owe him much for his sound advice, hard work and unstinting support. It has also been a pleasure to work closely with Will Sulkin, who not only commissioned and edited the book, but also offered words of encouragement when they were most needed and forbore my numerous pleas for deadline extensions with remarkable tolerance. Thank you! I salute Rosalind Porter at Jonathan Cape, who assisted with every aspect of the book and, along with Jo North, Pendleton Campbell, Alan Rutter, Matt