Character Sketches
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey: The Last Knight of a Dead Age
My upcoming historical fiction short story, A Fool's Errand, is set in the summer of 1544. As the English cannons thundered against the walls of Montreuil-sur-Mer, the drama and death of the external conflict masked the head-on collision of two visions of duty and honor---between the romantic chivalry and the harsh realities of a Tudor war. The principal tragic antagonist of the story is the brilliant and volatile Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, whose virtues, twisted by pride and circumstance, nearly destroyed him and catalyzed another man's awakening.
A Tudor Character Sketch: Gregory Trelawney
Gregory Trelawney, a fictional younger son of a Tudor gentry family, takes center stage in an historical fiction short story set during the 1544 Siege of Montreuil. The story explores themes of honor, mortality, and loyalty in the brutal reality of Henry VIII's last campaign. Alongside historical figures like the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Surrey, Trelawney confronts both the folly of command and the cost of survival. His journey becomes not just a tale of battle, but of how war strips away illusion and forces a reckoning with purpose.