This is my first book with Hodder & Stoughton, and the biggest thanks go to them. I have been overwhelmed by the warmth, enthusiasm and commitment that they have shown towards me from the beginning. I am particularly indebted to my editor, Maddy Price, for her insights, encouragement and attention to detail, and for conceiving the idea for the biography in the first place. Likewise, to Rupert Lancaster for having faith in me as an author, and for his unfailing wisdom and good humour. Emilie Ferguson, Emma Daley and Bea Long have been fantastic to work with on publicity, marketing and events, and Juliet Brightmore has been the most assiduous and inspired picture researcher I have ever known.
As well as the wonderful new team at Hodder, I have been very fortunate to have had the support of more familiar faces once more. My agent, Julian Alexander, has been at his gloriously understated best throughout, keeping a calm head when excitement or anxiety have got the better of me. Alison Weir was kind enough to take time out of a relentlessly busy schedule to read a draft of the book and to provide extremely positive feedback. Jean MacIntyre, my friend and colleague at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln, has been unfailingly supportive and irreverent in equal measure, and I am also indebted to my colleagues at Historic Royal Palaces, not least Ella Sullivan, Sam Cousens, Lucy Worsley and the chief executive, Michael Day.
I have been privileged to strike up a lively and enlightening email correspondence with Hilary Mantel, who has been kind enough to share her insights into Cromwell’s life and character, and whose books have – of course – been an inspiration. Dr Nick Holder, Lecturer in English History at Regent’s University London, has been extremely generous in sharing his research on Cromwell’s house at Austin Friars, and in allowing me to reproduce plans and sketches from his thesis. The Duke of Buccleuch very kindly waived the reproduction fee for the stunning portrait of Catherine of Aragon, and I am grateful to Gareth Fitzpatrick at Boughton House for arranging this. The picture section has also been greatly enhanced by the addition of complimentary images from The National Archives, thanks to Hester Vaizey and Paul Johnson, and Historic Royal Palaces, thanks to Annie Heron and Clare Murphy.
As ever, I have been incredibly lucky in having the encouragement of my wonderful family and friends. My parents have continued to support me in every way possible, and my Mum has been particularly kind in providing so much help with childcare. Jayne, Rick, Livvie and Neve Ellis have continued to take an interest in my writing career, and have kept my daughter Eleanor brilliantly entertained. Stephen Kuhrt has been a dedicated and enthusiastic follower of this book from its very inception, and I am deeply grateful for his advice on everything from evangelicals to screen portrayals of Cromwell. I am also indebted to Julian Humphrys for his insights into Cromwell’s military career, to Nicola Tallis for sharing her research on his career as Master of the Jewels, and to Steve Earles for his expertise on Ireland (not to mention for the regular gifts of chocolate). Other friends, such as Sophie Grant and Georgie Wilkins, have provided practical help at key moments, and I hope that this book will convince my loyal friend and critic, Honor Gay, that Cromwell wasn’t all bad.
My final thanks are to Tom Ashworth for his unstinting support, for bearing with my frequent absences at the British Library and for ensuring that, as Merriman said of Cromwell, I kept my ‘eyes steadily fixed upon the goal’.