Customer Reviews (10)

Good review of Sir Thomas More's life
This is an excellent book.I highly recommend it to any reader who is interested in the life of Sir Thomas More.It gives three things necessary to understand the life of Sir More.First, it expains the background, education, and family life of Sir Thomas More.Second, it expains the governmental and private work that Sir Thomas more accomplished in his life.Third, it explains the politics and affairs that lead Sir Thomas More into not endorsing King Henry's divorce from Catherine.

The reader will find out many fantastic things on More.I was amazed that More wrote over eleven thousand pages of material.I liked the fact the author wrote of the interplay between More's wife, Dame Alice, and More himself.Furthermore, the parts about More argueing against Luther's Reformation was quite informative.More had the sense to know that Luther's Reformation would fracture and weaken the Catholic church.Tynsdall's writings on the reformation directly leads to King Henry VIII taking over the Church in England.

This is a very good book.I highly encourage historians or Catholic readers to study it.

...those who would lose their life for my sake will find it.
This is an excellent biography of a courageous saint whose faith in God was stronger than his fear of death.While the book provides sufficient historical detail and background, its narrative structure is unique in that the author places events within the context of More's faith.Thankfully, Monti avoids a posthumous psychoanalysis of his subject (as many biographers are wont to do).Instead, he illuminates the saint's inner life by tapping into More's own thoughts, as revealed in his published works and correspondence.The result is a rich portrait of a man whose warmth and courage derived directly from his faith in God and the Catholic Church.

Monti synthesizes More's apologetical writings in response to the Reformation, revealing More's keen theological acumen.What impressed me the most, however, was discovering the depth and richness of More's spirituality and faith.More's insight into Christ's agony in the garden of Gethseme and during His passion were particularly moving.It becomes clear that More's understanding and appreciation of Christ's suffering strenthened his faith when he needed it most.

I would especially recommend this inspirational book to young people, who could choose no better role model than Saint Thomas More.He stands as a beacon of light in today's culture of moral relativism.

A Fantastic Overview of a Great Saint
The author has presented a very well balanced survey of the life of St. Thomas More.In this work of history, one can find an excellent survey of the literary work of St. Thomas More.Additionally, you will find an excellent synopsis of St. Thomas More's relationship with his friend and humanist, Erasmus.

The author writes in a style which captures the reader.This will not be one of those histories that you may only read piecemeal.Rather, St. Thomas More takes life and captivates the reader because of his holiness and goodness.

This work looks into the saint's devotional practices, his great faith, his love of God and man, and his relationship with his family.To state that this is an excellent starting point for any person wishing to learn more about this man is an understatement.

The characters of the reformation (i.e., Luther, Henry VIII) are given a balanced treatment in that their beliefs or writings are not misconstrued or embellished.St. Thomas More was a defender of the Father, and to that extent, his writing of the defense of the faith are given equal treatment.

This book is most highly recommended.

Outstanding - can't put it down!
I am about halfway through this book, despite purchasing it only a few days ago.It is such a terrific read, I can't put it down.I even bring it to work with me to read whenever I have a few spare minutes!
For those of you who might find history boring, this is still the text for you.Monti's style of writing is outstanding and easy to follow.This book is one of my all-time favorites.

Most importantly, it provides a fair and objective portrayal of Saint Thomas More.Many books have a bias, one way or the other, when writing about More or 16th century England yet it's tough to find one in this book.Furthermore, Monti doesn't focus simply on More, but gives the reader a fair portrayal of the Reformation during this crucial period in European history.

More's life is simply fascinating - it reads like a novel. His genius and profound morality is clear.Upon reading this book, More is the type of man one would want to know, and the kind we wish (!) there were more of in modern-day society.It is an extremely inspirational book.

"A Fine Exposition of More's Life and Writings"
James Monti's work, "The Kings Good Servant But God's First," provides an excellent overview St Thomas More's life and writings; but a much greater focus is based upon his writings.Monti's treatment of More's oeuvre is skillfully researched, comprehensive, informative, and pleasing to read.St Thomas More's defense of Church unity and the Sacraments against Tyndale and the rising tide of the Reformation, is finely commented upon in a clear and concise fashion.His devotional writings and correspondence with family in the waning days of his life on earth, are given an exceptional touch of intimacy, which will no doubt compel readers to seek out works such as the "Treatise upon the Passion" and the "Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation" (as one of our fellow reviews has pointed out as well).As for More's life, Monti pays particular attention to his early years and his final days, with brief expositions in between on his rise in the King's court and his later relations with Henry VIII as tensions began to swell between the English monarch and the Papacy.Overall, Monti presents a noble sketch of the Christian scholar and family man, graced with charm and good humor, conscientiousness and candor, who was devoted to his friends and family, and to the salvation of souls and Christ's Church.This book offers much material for in-depth study and further reading, and it is a definite recommendation. ... Read more

Book Description
This volume is the first to be published in the new series of the Independent Works of William Tyndale. Not only does Tyndale's Answer (1531) provide the missing link between St. Thomas More's Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1529, 1531) and Confutation of Tyndale (1532, 1533), but its newly minted phrases and biblical images, its attack on the Donation of Pepin (AD754), and its emphasis on feeling faith make it essential reading for scholars and graduate students of English language and literature, church history, and theology.

Here in the Foundational Essay, Tyndale takes his position on six major topics: his English translation of the New Testament, Scripture versus tradition, election to glory, the papacy, historical faith versus feeling faith, and religious ceremonies. In the remaining two-thirds of Answer, Tyndale attacks points from each of the four books in More's Dialogue.

The introduction to this critical edition of Answer briefly presents the history of its composition and the principles of its theology.The commentary spans fifteen-hundred years of church history from the New Testament to Tyndale's works of polemic and exegesis. Sidenotes from the Whole Works of 1573 show how Answer was received in Elizabethan England, after the queen had been excommunicated by Pius V in 1570. The glossary alerts the reader to the subtle differences between Renaissance and Modern English, and the indices to Scripture, Jerome, Augustine, Aquinas, Erasmus, More, and Luther provide access to the rich theological background. ... Read more

Book Description
Scholarly interest in The Book of Sir Thomas More has concentrated on the issue of Shakespeare's contribution to its revision. The play, which concerns the life of Sir Thomas More, was written in 1593-4, subjected to censorship by the Master of the Revels and revised by a group of playwrights which probably included Shakespeare.148 lines have been claimed as Shakespeare's, and these were the focus of a collection of essays edited by A. W. Pollard in 1923. The range of topics in this volume is much wider than that of the 1923 collection, taking in the problems presented by the play as a whole, its authorship and revision, structure, occasion and staging. The terms of controversy are realigned, and the stature of the play re-established, making it appear more than ever likely that Shakespeare contributed to its revision. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Two good reasons to care
Everything about the play, "Sir Thomas More," causes controversy in scholarly circles. When it was first written, when it was last re-written, what the interaction was among the co-authors, whether it was ever produced, what ideology or 'take' on then-recent English history might reasonably be read into it. All these matters are up for grabs.

But for everyone not a specialist in late Elizabethan or early Jacobean drama, there are only two real reasons to care about the play. Yet they are both very good reasons.

First, one scene of it may have been written by William Shakespeare, and "written" not just in the sense of composed. It may have been WRITTEN -- this may be his hand-writing. That's a tantalizing possibility.

Second, the play was censored, and the official censor who first tampered with the project and later effectively shut it down was an individual of some importance in the London of the time. This is a fascinating episode in the history of political censorship in the Anglo-Saxon context. ... Read more

Book Description
Well known as the man for all seasons, Thomas More is also a man for all purposes. Celebrated variously as holy martyr, Marxist hero, and moral exemplar during Clinton's impeachment hearings, Thomas More remains an enigmatic figure. This book by one of the leading historians of Tudor England seeks to separate the historical More from the many myths about him. It uncovers the substructure of evidence on which his biography is based and shows with clarity how the differing portrayals of More have come about, as well as where the line lies between the sustainable and the merely conjectural. It is a daring book that goes to the heart of the debate about More, shattering many of the illusions about this idealized figure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Must for More Fans
This new book on Thomas More is a must for More fans.Unlike previous biographies which run along like a river of time, the present work wrestleswith each part of More's life and character as questions, always attemptingto put the known historical facts alongside the accumulated tradition andhagiography surrounding this great man.Professor Guy demonstrates a clearknowledge of the work of other of More's biographers, and has a keenability to critically discuss them.While the synopis on the back coverwarns that those 'satisfied by an idealized vision of More...should notread this book', nothing could be farther from the truth.The book doesnot attempt to knock down More, but rather to ask some hard historicalquestions, and if it asks more questions than it answers it is all thebetter for it.The final assesment of More is left for the reader. Professor Guy makes some astute observations which many historians in thepast have taken for granted, for example the link often made with theidyllic picture painted by Erasmus in his letter to Hutten of More's andHolbein's famous painting of the More household in Chelsea.Guy points outthat Erasmus never knew More in the house at Chelsea, but only stayed for ashort time in More's house in the city of London.Guy also highlights thesupposed 'silence' of More with regards to the Act of Supremacy and writesthat More 'conyeyed what he really thought to almost anyone who wouldlisten in coded but "safe" language, while pretending to keep"silence"'.The book, however, does not deal only with More'slife and the shibboleths surrounding it, but the ways in which More's lifeand character have been interpreted by the succeeding generations:understanding him as everything from a Protestant 'avant le lettre' to anicon of Communist Russia complete with a memorial to him in Moscow'sAlexandrovsky Gardens.Throughout the work one can sense Professor Guy'sgenuine respect, admiration and even love for Thomas More (warts and all)and it is this ultimately which makes the book such a pleasant read forMore fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A worthy biography of Sir Thomas More
This is a detailed, well-researched and thouroughly conventional biography of the life of Thomas More, Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII, Catholic apologist and saint, man of letters, London lawyer and model father.

In painting More's portrait, Richard Marius not only describes all aspects of his busy life, including his family life, but also strives to make us acquainted with some of the prominent figures of the time. Erasmus receives special attention and both his works and the correspondence between him and More is treated at great length. Luther is another important character, along with other Reformation figures.

The author describes meticulously the content of More's main works starting with his account of the life of Richard III and ending with the treatise on death he wrote when he was imprisoned in the Tower. Each book is analysed in depth both as to its philosophical, theological and political import and as a reflection of More's character and beliefs. In fact, the discussion of More's literary production takes up about half the book, so that "Thomas More: A Biography" could appropriately be renamed "Thomas More's Literary Career".

Another reviewer has torn into this biography, accusing Marius of "deconstructionism". At first I found that Marius's view of Thomas More was surprisingly free of many modern prejudices. Let us not forget that More is a man who should be thouroughly repellent to any liberal scholar: he persecuted heretics relentlessly. He seemes to have been what we now call a religious fanatic, a XVIth century version of Khomeini.

Now, except for the odd passage, there are no such cynical or condescending remarks as one often finds under the pen of many modern historians when discussing the Middle Ages or Catholicism in this biography. Sometimes I even suspected that Marius might be a crypto-Catholic, for he shows more than disinterested objectivity in his treatment of the causes that More passionately espoused. Sometimes he even vents his repulsion for some Protestant doctrines or the behavior of More's adversaries, describing for example the King at the time of his infatuation with Anne Boleyn as "a boar in rut" and the woman herself as "a strumpet".

But when I finished the book I was struck by the fact that it had left in my mind a rather negative image of Sir Thomas More. In any case, I didn't think he deserved to be considered as a saint by the Church. In his depiction of him, Marius seems to focus more on the somber aspects of his personality and he certainly doesn't dwell on the likeable or admirable ones.He goes even so far as to compare him with the hateful Torquemada.

Marius provides a general psychological explanation for More's course of action. It is not specially far-fetched or outrageous, just slightly Freudian: More, says Marius, was obsessed with death and fought against his own sexual drives, traits which were common enough among his contemporaries. Fortunately, Marius does not dwell heavily on his psychological theories and when he does attempt an explanation, refrains from using any pseudo-pschoanalytic jargon.

"Thomas More: A Biography" is specially valuable for the light it throws on the doctrinal issues that were at the center of the Reformation and I gained many an insight from Marius'clear and profound reflections. The only thing which I found lacking is a detailed description of political events, economic life(More lived in an age of three-digit inflation!)civilization and daily life in 16th century England but then the book might easily have been twice as long. To put it briefly, this biography is more a discussion of ideas than of events, which is understandable since More was a rather second-rate political figure (at least this is how he appears in this work).

What one will not find either in this book is evocative descriptions of XVIth century London or of King Henry's court. You will not be apprised here of the name of More's dog or find a description of the furniture of his house. Marius doesn't try to recreate the age with a wealth of details: he focuses on More, his books, and on the religious issues and controversies of the time.

The book is long and does contain a few lengthy and dull passages, especially in the beginning and when Marius goes in great detail into More's books and correspondence but the narrative gets more and more interesting toward the end. One aspect of the book which I found confusing is the author's inability to tell us what was the real state of public opinion in More's time. He often says that the English people were fiercely anticlerical but also states that they were overwhelmingly for Catherine of Aragon and against the Henry's divorce. To me this seems to be a blatant contradiction. Apparently, Marius has failed to make a distinction between the intelligentsia and the popular classes and between London and the rest of the country.

All in all, I still think that this is a worthy book. I don't think Marius could have been more sympathetic to More without sounding as a Catholic hagiographer. In addition to it and for people who want a more Catholic view of the period, I recommend Hilaire Belloc's books on the Reformation. People interested in a scholarly work about English Catholicism at the time of Thomas More should read The Stripping of the Altars.

Excellent, complex bio of an excellent, complex man.
Among the several recent More biographers, Marius is the best qualified, having served as an editor of the Yale Complete Works of Saint Thomas More. More was an exceedingly complex person whose personality is very, very difficult to capture. Of the three serious biographies of More written in the last 20 years (by Alistair Fox, Marius, and Peter Ackroyd) I found Marius's biography the most rewarding.



More remains a controversial figure: to Catholics he is a Saint, the patron saint of politicians and statemen. But then again, he was an enthusiastic prosecutor of heretics: more than 30 were burned under More's authority as Chancellor of England. The idea that the brilliant, virtuous More (now frozen in the form of Paul Scofield) could have done this is repellant to some. I believe this accounts for the bile heaped on Marius's book by some reviewers here. Frankly, criticisms of Marius's SCHOLARSHIP are just ridiculous; they say more about the commentor than the subject.

That said, Marius's bio is not perfect. It has ideas and makes excellent connections; but I found that reading all three of these bios gave me a better sense of Thomas More than any one. Yet as in Rashomon, just when one thinks one has the missing piece needed to know More, one gets the annoying sense that the pieces do not quite fit and one despairs of ever knowing him. He is that deep.



Still, if one will read only one More bio, I say read Marius's. (Unless, that is, you are looking for outright hagiography -- in which case, read Monti's book.)

Biography as novel
This is biography of Thomas More lacks scholarship, and contains a surprising number of passages in which Marius shows his lack of depth as an objective scholar with a broad range of learning in this field.

Do yourself a favor and read Peter Ackroyd's book.

Not a work of high scholarship
This biography often reads more like a novel.Although Marius can lay a claim to scholarship as the editor of More's Collected Works at Yale, his writings on historical figures lack for objectivity and attention to avoiding basic prejudices and popular suppositions.

Louis Martz, the great More scholar at Yale, was moved to write a "defense" of More's humanism and some of the basic facts of More's life, commonly known to all More scholars, subsequent to Marius' biography.

What is interesting is that Marius is equally poor is writing about Martin Luther, one of More's literary adversaries.So much so that in the recent reviews of the Luther biography, Marius is accused of the "catholic" view of Luther, when in fact Marius is a protestant.

I believe that the trouble arises when one does not stick to the scholarship and the facts, and allows oneself to put in imaginary thoughts and conversation and personal biases.Then you just have a work of fiction.

Better to stick to a readable and sound biography such as that of Peter Ackroyd.

Still the best biography of Thomas More
Marius presents More "worts and all" and he certainly did have some worts by moderern standards, such as advocating the burning of heretics.But as John Adams said, facts are stuborn things.More wrote and did things of which we cannot approve--as well as a great many things of immortal value.Unlike us, those in times past were frequently wrong and misguided.We must learn to admire More (and any other historical personage, such as Jefferson) despite their flaws.

Marius presents More in the intellectual context of the day.The reader will learn as much about the Reformation as More, and you will learn More than in all the other biographies combined.

By no means do I agree with all of Marius's judgements, but he gives you the facts and you can think for yourself.No More can a serious biogapher do. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Getting Serious Again
This book has been very helpful to a number of my friends involved in politics in Washington DC.This book, if the reader fails to glean anything else, will show people that a life of study is required in order to rise to the top of the political heap and, once there, actually be an effective custodian of the public trust.Peering into the mind of Thomas More sobers the reader and inspires the politically aspirant to get serious about his virtues, both personal and public.

An added bonus is that the political philosophy of Thomas More is based upon the mysteries of mankind and not on some limited "conservative" or "liberal" ideology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent insight into St. Thomas's life, thought and faith
I couldn't put this book down. It is well-written and well-documented, including a thorough index. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in St. Thomas More, Tudor history or philosophy. ... Read more

Amazon.com
The Life of Thomas More is Peter Ackroyd's biography--from baptism to beheading--of the lawyer who became a saint. More, a noted humanist whose friendship with Erasmus and authorship of Utopia earned him great fame in Europe, succeeded Cardinal Wolsey as Lord Chancellor of London at the time of the English Reformation. In 1535, More was martyred for his refusal to support Henry VIII's divorce and break with Rome. Ackroyd's biography is a masterpiece in several senses. Perhaps most importantly, he corrects the mistaken impression that Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons has given two generations of theater and film audiences: More was not, as Bolt's drama would have us believe, a civil disobedient who put his conscience above the law. Ackroyd explains that "conscience was not for More an individual matter." Instead, it was derived from "the laws of God and of reason." If the greatest justice in this book is analytic, however, its greatest joys are descriptive. Ackroyd brings 16th-century London to life for his readers--an exotic world where all of life is enveloped by the church: "As the young More made his way along the lanes and thoroughfares, there was the continual sound of bells." --Michael Joseph GrossBook Description
Peter Ackroyd's The Life of Thomas More is a magnificent reconstruction of the life and imagination of one of the most remarkable figures of history. Thomas More was a renowned statesman, the author of a political fantasy that gave a name to a genre and a worldview (Utopia), and, most famously, a Catholic martyr, who paid with his life when he refused to follow his sovereign, King Henry VIII, in severing England's ties with the Catholic Church.

Born into the professional classes, Thomas More (1478-1535) rose by dint of formidable intellect and well-placed connections to become the most powerful man in England after the king. An exponent of what was called in his day "the mixed life," More combined medieval piety with worldly mastery of legal argument and the art of negotiation. Ackroyd dramatically shows how the clouds of Lutheran reformation that swarmed over the continent unleashed the storm of the early modern period that swept away More's world and took his life. He clarifies the whirl of dynastic, religious, and mercantile politics that brought the autocratic Henry VIII and the devout More into their fateful conflict. And he narrates the unrelenting drama of More's final days--his detention, trial, and execution--with a novelist's mastery of suspense.

In Ackroyd's hands, this renowned "man for all seasons" emerges in the fullness of his complex humanity; we see the unexpected side of his character (a preference for bawdy humor) as well as his indisputable moral courage. Acclaimed for his magisterial biographies (T. S. Eliot, Dickens, Blake), Peter Ackroyd has once again scored a triumph. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Sir Thomas More
Thomas More lived an exemplary life during hard times. His faith in the Catholic Church was put to the test by his king, and though he failed his king and paid the price on the scaffold, he served his God and was rewarded with martyrdom and sainthood. Peter Ackroyd's book is a brilliant and dramatic telling of More's life.

Thomas More was born in London in 1478. He was educated at Oxford where upon his father's insistence he studied law. But he was also interested in theology and thought for a while of becoming a monk. Famously he wore a hair shirt his entire life. Instead of taking vows, however, he took a wife and had four children. He made sure his daughters received as rigorous an education as his sons. (His wife died in 1511 and he married Alice Middleton and adopted her daughter.)

The law was More's lifelong profession where he represented various groups in the courts and helped settle trade disputes abroad. He wrote a history of King Richard III, wherein he portrayed Richard as a cruel, even criminal, ruler. In 1516, he published his most famous book, UTOPIA, which described an ideal community governed totally by reason. When Cardinal Wolsey failed to secure an annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he was replaced by More as lord chancellor. He worked diligently in this position and became a friend to the king. But troubles were already visible in the horizon.

When Henry, through the Act of Supremacy, declared himself the head of the Church of England, More was in opposition to him: he refused to take an oath of allegiance to Henry that would deny papal supremacy of the church. He was tried, found guilty, and beheaded five days later.

Ackroyd is especially good in relating the dramatic events during these last few years in More's life. He narrates thiswith the power and skill of a novelist; indeed, it's almost impossible to put the book down during the last 100 pages. Anyone in want of moral uplift need only read these last pages for complete satisfaction. More went to the scaffold bravely, even telling the executioner to stay calm and aim true. He joked after stumbling on the scaffold steps and received help: "When I come down again let me shift for myself as well as I can." Then "he died the King's good servant but God's first," which is his life in a nutshell. Ackroyd writes with authority and tremendous style, but it's the drama that he infuses in his account that truly sets this book apart. Highly recommended.

Intimate Encounter with a Larger-Than-Life Historical Figure
The moment I finished Peter Ackroyd's "Life of Thomas More," my strongest impulse was to close it, open it up to the first page again, and start -- immediately -- reading it all over again, word by word, page by page.

I hung on every word of this text. I wanted to understand Thomas More.

I wanted to understand a man whose misogyny was obvious in his many derogatory statements about women. For example, when asked why he liked short women, he said that it was best to choose the lesser of evils.

When a mature man, More married a mere girl and got her pregnant so many times in such rapid succession that she lived only a few short years after marrying him.

More married his second wife, as the saying goes, while still in mourning clothes for his first. He mocked that second wife, Dame Alice, publicly. He wrote texts that associated women exclusively with sex and disgusting bodily functions like vomiting and diarrhea.

And, yet, More was exceptional for his time in educating his beloved daughter, the one great passion of his life, Margaret More Roper.

More persecuted his countrymen who deviated from the Catholic faith, and published vile condemnations of Luther, and eventually, knowingly, and humbly, sacrificed his own life to his own interpretation of that faith.

More rose, through obediance, flattery, and dogged labor, from relatively humble circumstances to being Henry the VIII's chancellor, and a wealthy man, and then tossed away his considerable worldly goods and power to die an ignominious death.

You want to understand a man who could encompass so many passionate apparent contradictions.

And, so, I hung on every word of Ackroyd's detailed and yet economical text.

My attention was amply rewarded. Ackroyd marshalls the kind of authentic, telling details of the Medieval life that More lived that can make an era, and its inhabitants, come alive. Even so, Ackroyd is never wordy. When he has said enough, he simply stops.

Along the way, Ackroyd brings to light the life and impact of a woman he says has been nearly forgotten: Elizabeth Barton, a seeress and nun in Kent. Barton spoke against Henry VIII's divorce of his wife, Catherine of Aragon.

Her voice was considered so important that Henry himself visited her.

For her trouble, Barton and her priestly followers were tortured to death.

As I read, I could not help but reflect: in our own age of "celebrity," we know too many details about non-entities we don't care about at all -- the Britney Spears and Paris Hiltons enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame. We can view film footage of their most intimate moments on the internet; hear their every thought in televised interviews.

Thomas More lived five hundred years ago. We can't ask him to reconcile for us his hateful diatribes against women and his love of Margaret, his ant-like accumulation of worldly goods and his sacrifice for his beliefs.

The records just don't exist.

And, yet ... even though the More in these pages has to remain something of a cypher, even though More, as was the norm in his time, wrote with extreme caution in ambiguous, tradition-bound, unspontaneous and sometimes flowery prose, I felt I had an encounter, through Ackroyd's book, with a remarkable human being. I was in tears throughout the final passages leading up to More's death.

A final word: I am a fan of "A Man for all Seasons." Again and again, reviewers pit Ackroyd's book against the Robert Bolt play and subsequent movie.

One does not necessarily cancel out the other...both the film and this book work, for me, from what I know about More, as explorations of his life and impact, and his famous final choice.

I never saw Paul Scofield's More as a Thoreau-like figure, as some reviewers have said; he was not depicted as living in a house in the woods, after all, and he did base his decision on adherence to a greater principle than personal conscience, i.e., the law, just as Ackroyd's More does.

So, yes, do see the movie, and do read this book.

Fantastic, but non-intellectuals beware!
Gosh, golly gee, crikey - the superlatives could go on all day.This is a superb, densely textured biography.Ackroyd revels in the complex psychology and sociology of his subject, e.g., his devotion to duty, his father fixation, etc.He also places Thomas More firmly in the London of his time and in his historical moment - the Reformation - especially through More's own writings.

It has been remarked that the chapters amount to a series of vignettes.That's true, and the amount of knowledge retailed in each glimpse of More and his world is staggering.

To give but a few examples:
Chap. 3 - St. Anthony's Pigs: we follow young More through the streets of Tudor London to his school and get insight into the Renaissance education system.

Ch 4 - Cough Not, Nor Spit: Thomas' early career as a page to Archbishop (of Canterbury) Morton, Henry VII's notorious "enforcer".This relationship illuminates More's later dealings with Cardinal Wolsey.

Ch 8 - We Talk Of Letters: sketches of Grocyn, Linacre, Lily, Colet, More - the "London humanists", or More's intellectual circle.

And so on.The book continues in the same fascinating vein.It is a hard slog to read, and I'm sorry that Peter Ackroyd did not give a glossary of A) Latin and Greek expressions, and B) even some of his more obscure English words.I also regret that there's no map to illustrate Ackroyd's loving depiction of the London where More learned, lived, worked and suffered.

More's story is well known and often told.Ackroyd has given a fully-rounded portrayal of the man, his background, career, family and friends.

What a pleasure to read.

A Character Study
I enjoyed this book, but I do think that as a narrative history it is perhaps slightly flawed. The main strength (and problem) I have with this book is that the character study is so dominant that is completely ignores the larger historical picture that More lived within and, at times the dominant philosophy, that may have allowed a deeper understanding of More.

The gnawing problem I have with this book is the main currents that More struggled against and the ideas he fought for are little outlined. The church that he so selflessly defended is little described beyond its social context in which More was raised. The central point of More was that the sublimation of the time honoured traditions (though admittedly flawed) could not be merely circumvented by mans personal appeal to God. Direct dialougue with God allowed a virtual pandora's box of interpretation and clash of beliefs that could only lead to mass bloodshed --- and he was right! This belief is left unexplored and the historical events, such as the peasants revolt in Germany that More abhored and used in his polemical tracts against Luther (a thoroughly scatologically unsavoury character) is not described. In addition Charles V sack of Rome and its influence on the relations with Henry VII are not considered relevant.

So I feel dissatified because I am not getting a wide historical narrative. Although I understand the texture of the stones that he worshipped upon and the feel of the robes he wore, I have little feeling of the times that surrounded him. For the first-time reader of More, this may appear disconcerting.

I realise that my critique cuts another way: if Ackroyd did write the larger historical narrative I wanted, he may have digressed into the narrative historical self-abuse of the 1000 page biography (only acceptable in the most exceptional of circumstances).

I also get no sense of a building dennoument in the encounter with Henry. There is a annoying blase telling of the story with some bright moments -- the book gets better as one goes through it -- it is dense and quite frankly, a little boring in the beginning.

ALso the Olde Englysh translations do detract from the flow of the narrative. Although it is easily understood ones reading flow slows from 700 words per minute, to 50 words per minute in the old English translations. He should revise it from the 16th Century vernacular to modern spelling.

In final analysis I feel that I really did not understand the man. I feel that I need to get a hold of a better biography of the man. So if Ackroyd succeeded in doing this, then it was worth the read.

The best contempory text on the life of St. Thomas More!
Peter Ackroyd is a master of drawing the reader into the experience of Thomas More.He provides a well researched and eloquent work that justly portrays the man and saint.Even though Sir Thomas More was emersed in the difficulties of state politics, economics, and law, Peter Ackroyd never loses sight of More's deep Catholic faith: "[The Mass] was the single most important aspect of his life, and the source from which much of his earnestness and his irony, his gravity and his playfulness, springs" (112). ... Read more

Book Description
Since the paradisal yearnings of ancient Sumeria, the concept of utopia has persisted as a symbol of hope. These essays provide a broad spread of perspectives on the ways the utopian vision has appeared, ranging from the "heavenly garden" of the ancient Near East, through Sir Thomas More's "Utopia" and the idealized societies of feminist science fiction, to the utopian/dystopian expressions of Kurt Vonnegut. "The Utopian Vision" is enhanced by a fully annotated bibliography of more than 500 works by utopian authors or on aspects of utopia. Originally published in 1983. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not all that fun
I was in Western Michigan University's Waldo Library to find material on several books that dealt with the utopian/dystopian ideals.This was something I found.It was okay, but I wouldn't read it for fun. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

an elegantly written little volume
Martz has some good credentials in coming to write about More:for instance he is Sterling Professor (emeritus) of English at Yale and Chairman of the Editorial Board overseeing Yale's series of the complete works of Thomas More.And properly he writes from that grand vantage point, turning More's life and thought around like a crystal to be examined, facet by facet.What he fastens on to considered in this too-short book is interesting in itself, such as the conclusions to be drawn from the changes in the composition and poses of the family in the draft and revised final copies of a More family portrait.(Historians can learn much here.)

Martz asks the big questions, too.Was More a religious zealot, unceasingly hounding men like Tyndale to their deaths?Or, as Martz well argues, a man fulfilling the duties of his position in an age of harsh remedies and punishments?(These were not kind times for anyone.)Again and again, Martz maturely considers More and More's actions in the context of that period, and brings a sophistication, perhaps even a wisdom,to a debate that rages between those who wish the man to be fully a saint without blemish, and those who wish to find a monster under those rich robes.As experience would suggest, the truth is at neither extreme - and not even on a line to be drawn between these poles.

This is a book to savor and reflect on, and while Martz's insights may not bring the search for the inner More to conclusion, he starts us on the way.Here is More looked at as an actual human being, and not an icon for either camp or ideology, to worship or despise; here is the man that Erasmus loved and treated as a dear and close friend.More must have had some mightly virtues to engage the heart of the tolerance-loving Erasmus, and I think that is the man Martz is searching for, and that is the man, the More, he finds. ... Read more

Book Description
This volume contains a biographical account of the life of Sir Thomas More, author and statesman, who was canonized a Saint in 1935. As a writer, he was best known for "Utopia." Contents: More's education; More's calling; More and Erasmus; More's household; More and the temporalty; More and the spirituality; church's champion; King's willfulness; King's chancellor; More's retirement; Tower of London; execution. ... Read more