Thomas More
A Life and Death in Tudor England
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:29th May '25
Should be back in stock very soon
Discover a story 400 years in the making - the definitive biography of the man who dominated England in the first half of the sixteenth century
'Engrossing' THE TIMES
'In this excellent study, Thomas More is reborn as a complex, absorbing man' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'[A] immersive, richly told account of life, death, faith and politics at the early Tudor court' SPECTATOR
'THE definitive biography of one of history's most complex and often inscrutable characters' NATHEN AMIN
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Born into the English Wars of the Roses, educated in the European Renaissance, enthralled by the Age of Exploration and ultimately destroyed by Henry VIII, Thomas More is one of the most famous - or notorious - figures in English history.
Is he a saintly scholar, the visionary author of Utopia and an inspiration for statesmen, socialists and intellectuals even today?
Or is he the stubborn zealot famously portrayed in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall?
Thomas More: A Life and Death in Tudor England is the definitive biography of this hypnotic, flawed figure. Overturning many received interpretations of the sixteenth century, Joanne Paul shows Thomas More to have been an intellectual and political giant of his age, central to the making of modern Europe.
Based on new archival discoveries and drawing on more than a decade's research into More's life and work, this is a richly-told story of family, faith and politics, and a compelling portrait of a man who, more than four hundred years after his death, remains the most brilliant mind of the Renaissance.
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MORE PRAISE FOR THOMAS MORE
'Paul has created a portrait of Thomas More that is epic, intimate and profoundly relatable to the modern reader' LEAH REDMOND CHANG, Women's Prize longlisted historian of Young Queens
'Very impressive' ALISON WEIR
'A proper scholarly history as well as a wonderful narrative read' SUSANNAH LIPSCOMB
'Paul gives us a movingly human picture of a family man, scholar, politician and, ultimately, political martyr' ELIZABETH NORTON
To show us More as other than saint or villain, [Paul's] readable biographyimmersesus in More's busy, messy and changing world ... engrossing * The Times *
Fans of The House of Dudley – and , indeed , of Wolf Hall and A Man for All Seasons - will find much to enjoy in this immersive , richly told account of life , death , faith and politics at the early Tudor court * SPECTATOR *
THE definitive biography of one of history’s most complex and often inscrutable characters -- NATHEN AMIN, author of Son of Prophesy: The Rise of Henry Tudor
Joanne Paul has created a portrait of Thomas More that is epic, intimate and profoundly relatable to the modern reader. In Paul’s hands he is neither overly good nor bad; he just is. We are in a new age of tyrants – Thomas More shows the necessity of speaking truth to power at all costs -- LEAH REDMOND CHANG, Women’s Prize longlisted historian of Young Queens
Forget […] Hilary Mantel’s caricatures. In this excellent study, Thomas More is reborn as a complex, absorbing man * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
Very impressive -- ALISON WEIR
A work of proper scholarly history as well as a wonderful narrative read...Joanne Paul goes back to the words More wrote himself, to try and get at More before fame and the accusations against him took hold. I so enjoyed the result -- SUSANNAH LIPSCOMB
Paul gives us a movingly human picture of a family man, scholar, politician and, ultimately, political martyr. As compelling as a novel, the story of More's rise and fall is vividly told -- ELIZABETH NORTON
Praise for Joanne Paul -- -
Death, desire, power and scandal - this is riveting stuff. Paul produces a well-written, historically grounded page-turner * Spectator *
ISBN: 9781405953603
Dimensions: 240mm x 165mm x 50mm
Weight: 911g
624 pages