Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Vintage (1999), Paperback
Description
Pre-eminent as a courtier and a humanist, a friend to Henry VIII and the author of Utopia, Thomas More is one of the great figures of England's history; his life and career epitomize the great transformation of the country in the space of 35 years. This biography investigates the paradox of this man for all seasons: the man of the world who travelled across Europe to negotiate on behalf of his king, and the unworldly man whose careful silence on the matter of Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn would lead to his disgrace and execution.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Smiley
Captivating, complete biography that sets Thomas More firmly within the context of his time, place and beliefs on the cusp of the Reformation. Excellent.
LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is a rich and erudite biography, replete with literary and theological references. As would be expected from this author, the theme of More as a Londoner is brought out quite clearly. The overriding theme, however, is of More as essentially a man of his time, the last great representative of
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late Medieval Catholicism, with a deeply ingrained belief in order, harmony and peaceful uniformity as represented by the collective piety of his religion, still at this early stage shared by the great bulk of the population of London and most of the country. That explains his hatred and violence towards the heretics whom he saw as disturbers of all order and civilisation in the world, not just of the Catholic church; it is the aspect of his life that is most disturbing to the modern reader, seeming to conflict harshly with his great conscience and the heroic nature of his death. But he must be seen in the context of his time when many great educated men on all sides of the religious divide believed in causing the deaths of their opponents to save those opponents' souls. A great, if not easy read, though I felt it lost its way a bit in the middle. Show Less
LibraryThing member zen_923
This book is not a slow read as some reviews have claimed. It is very engaging book for anyone interested in both the man and the world that he live in. I just wish that the author put more emphasis on More's legal career. Nevertheless, this book definitely made me want to read more about Tudor
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England and the English Reformation. An excellent biography of a brilliant man... Show Less
LibraryThing member idyll
Akroyd writes with an irresistible scholarly starchiness. It's hard for me to like More, though I love reading about his times. He was a medieval, hierarchically inclined stick-in-the-mud at the time that this world view was about to be shattered. It's hard for us in modern times to even imagine a
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world that had the kind of (oppressive) cohesion of his youthful years. He stuck with the mothership of the 1000-year-old franchise. Unfortunately, his boss had left the building. He was obviously killer-intelligent, but smug. Though nobody should die as he did, he was blind to the end to his own hypocrisy. He apparently enjoyed whipping heretics. Show Less
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
A good biography, placing in the man in his own context, and dispelling some of the myths regarding the reasons for More's execution. Robert Bolt's play "A Man for all Seasons" is far more to the modern taste of a man defying the tyrant in defence of liberty. Ackroyd has replaced the controversy
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with its real terms. Show Less
LibraryThing member jonfaith
Aside from Ackroy claiming to a fidelity to the milieu of More by quoting him in the obscure spellings of the sixteenth century, there are vast praries of emotional space between the author and his subject. I am left a bit puzzled. Ackroyd goes to sufficient lengths to remove the aura of
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hagiography from More, but doesn't construct a viable counter-thesis either. There is simply the written record. Odd. Show Less
LibraryThing member tnilsson
Anyone who sees More as admirable or worthy of respect should read this book as it shows More in his true light: a delusional bastard who really wasn't capable of true critical thought and who is directly responsible for the deaths of quite a few people in a very cruel manner. He may have been a
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man of his time, but there were many others who were far better people, even during his time. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Winner — Biography — 1998)
Notable Books List (1999)
Language
Original publication date
1998
Physical description
448 p.; 7.64 inches
ISBN
0749386401 / 9780749386405