Description
Peter Ackroyd’s The Life of Thomas More is a masterful reconstruction of the life and imagination of one of the crucial remarkable figures of history. Thomas More (1478-1535) was once a renowned statesman; the writer of a political fantasy that gave a name to a literary genre and a worldview (Utopia); and, so much famously, a Catholic martyr and saint.
Born into the pro classes, Thomas More applied his formidable intellect and well-placed connections to turn out to be probably the most powerful man in England, second only to the king. As much a work of history as a biography, The Life of Thomas More gives an unmatched portrait of the on a regular basis, religious, and intellectual life of the early sixteenth century. In Ackroyd’s hands, this renowned “man for all seasons” emerges within the fullness of his complex humanity; we see the unexpected side of his character–such as his preference for bawdy humor–in addition to his indisputable moral courage.