Peter 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.