Thomas More

While researching my genealogy the past forty years, I recently discovered I was a direct descendant of this great man,Sir Thomas More, and a Catholic saint. As a Roman Catholic, and naturally an American with English ancestry, this is a fine biography of a great man who wrote many books, including "Utopia," a well known phrase 500 years after More's book was published. I am delighted, humbled and honored to be his 15th great grandson. More was totally human too, yes he's a saint, but a flawed man too,who struggled just as you and I do in our daily lives. This book is not just for Catholic readers or Americans of English ancestry. It truly is a book for all readers who enjoy biographies of influential men and women. You will not be disappointed, it's a fine read. Great used copies available at affordable prices. I am honored to recommend this fine biography of my ancestor.

This is a detailed, well-researched and thouroughly conventional biography of the life of Thomas More, Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII, Catholic apologist and saint, man of letters, London lawyer and model father.In painting More's portrait, Richard Marius not only describes all aspects of his busy life, including his family life, but also strives to make us acquainted with some of the prominent figures of the time. Erasmus receives special attention and both his works and the correspondence between him and More is treated at great length. Luther is another important character, along with other Reformation figures. The author describes meticulously the content of More's main works starting with his account of the life of Richard III and ending with the treatise on death he wrote when he was imprisoned in the Tower. Each book is analysed in depth both as to its philosophical, theological and political import and as a reflection of More's character and beliefs. In fact, the discussion of More's literary production takes up about half the book, so that "Thomas More: A Biography" could appropriately be renamed "Thomas More's Literary Career". Another reviewer has torn into this biography, accusing Marius of "deconstructionism". At first I found that Marius's view of Thomas More was surprisingly free of many modern prejudices. Let us not forget that More is a man who should be thouroughly repellent to any liberal scholar: he persecuted heretics relentlessly. He seemes to have been what we now call a religious fanatic, a XVIth century version of Khomeini. Now, except for the odd passage, there are no such cynical or condescending remarks as one often finds under the pen of many modern historians when discussing the Middle Ages or Catholicism in this biography. Sometimes I even suspected that Marius might be a crypto-Catholic, for he shows more than disinterested objectivity in his treatment of the causes that More passionately espoused. Sometimes he even vents his repulsion for some Protestant doctrines or the behavior of More's adversaries, describing for example the King at the time of his infatuation with Anne Boleyn as "a boar in rut" and the woman herself as "a strumpet". But when I finished the book I was struck by the fact that it had left in my mind a rather negative image of Sir Thomas More. In any case, I didn't think he deserved to be considered as a saint by the Church. In his depiction of him, Marius seems to focus more on the somber aspects of his personality and he certainly doesn't dwell on the likeable or admirable ones.He goes even so far as to compare him with the hateful Torquemada. Marius provides a general psychological explanation for More's course of action. It is not specially far-fetched or outrageous, just slightly Freudian: More, says Marius, was obsessed with death and fought against his own sexual drives, traits which were common enough among his contemporaries. Fortunately, Marius does not dwell heavily on his psycholog

Marius presents More "worts and all" and he certainly did have some worts by moderern standards, such as advocating the burning of heretics. But as John Adams said, facts are stuborn things. More wrote and did things of which we cannot approve--as well as a great many things of immortal value. Unlike us, those in times past were frequently wrong and misguided. We must learn to admire More (and any other historical personage, such as Jefferson) despite their flaws. Marius presents More in the intellectual context of the day. The reader will learn as much about the Reformation as More, and you will learn More than in all the other biographies combined. By no means do I agree with all of Marius's judgements, but he gives you the facts and you can think for yourself. No More can a serious biogapher do.

I recently noticed an academic review of Marius's new biography of Luther that was quite harsh, accusing him of being anachronistic and presentist in all his books (i.e. attributing modern attitudes to a person from a different time period). At least in this book, it is true that Marius tends to see in More some aspects of Marius's own personality, especially Marius's struggles as an evangelical Christian with some doubts. He also depicts More more unfavorably than do most biographies (for one thing More had a vulgar sense of humor). But even though I am an atheist and a More fan, I thought most of Marius's insights hit home and some were really intriguing. As the editor of the More papers, Marius really knows the subject, and the deep feeling of this book (which is never self-indulgent) had me pacing the room while reading it. Overall I thought it was a great great book; I liked it better than Ackroyd's more recent More biography.

Marius' biography of Thomas More is excellent. His scholarship is first-rate, his writing superb. The author is very knowledgeable, not only of the man, and his times, but of the often confusing theological issues of the era. I find Marius' ability to convey these theological issues, both accurately and simply, to be second to none. Over-all this work is a great read. It presents Thomas More to us in such a way as to see inside of the man as no other author will probably ever be able to. Marius is as unbiased as is posible in his presentation of More and his struggles, and he is as honest regarding those problems of faith and doubt regarding religious matters (which More, Luther, and all of us have) as anyone I have ever read.