The Life of Thomas MorePeter Ackroyd's The Life of Thomas More is a masterful reconstruction of the life and imagination of one of the most remarkable figures of history. Thomas More (1478-1535) was a renowned statesman; the author of a political fantasy that gave a name to a literary genre and a worldview (Utopia); and, most famously, a Catholic martyr and saint. Born into the professional classes, Thomas More applied his formidable intellect and well-placed connections to become 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 everyday, religious, and intellectual life of the early sixteenth century. 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--such as his preference for bawdy humor--as well as his indisputable moral courage. |
Contents
COUGH NOT NOR SPIT | |
SET ON HIS BOOK | |
DUTY IS THE LOVE OF | |
WE TALK OF LETTERS | |
IF YOU WANT TO LAUGH | |
THE WINE OF ANGELS | |
HOLY HOLY HOLY | |
CRAFT OF THE CITY | |
MILK AND HONEY | |
A JOLLY MASTERWOMAN | |
MOST HOLY FATHER | |
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Alice Anne Boleyn Archbishop asked authority became believed Bishop Canterbury cardinal Catherine Catherine of Aragon century chamber Charterhouse Chelsea Christ Church clergy concerned conscience contemporary Correspondence of Sir court Cresacre Cuthbert Tunstall death dialogue early Elizabeth Barton emphasised England English Epistolae Erasmus example faith father Hall haue Henry VIII heresy heretics Holbein holy household humanist Hythlodaeus Ibid John Colet John Fisher John Rastell king king's known late medieval later Latin lawyer learning letter London Lord Chancellor Luther Margaret marriage matter Mercers merchants More's oath occasions Oxford parliament perhaps period piety play Pope priest prison Quoted Rastell Reformation rhetoric Richard Richard Pace role royal scholar seems sense servant Sir Thomas spiritual St Lawrence Jewry St Paul's Street suggests Sylvester and Harding Thomas Cromwell Thomas Wolsey Tower treatise Tudor Utopia Westminster William Roper Wolsey words writing wrote Yale young