Reviews

• I feel that this biography is one of the best. The author captures what is important in the Life of St Thomas More. The line in this biography that always inspires me is More’s answer to his daughter, Meg, when she warns him of the fatal consequences of refusal to take the oath: BETRAY HIM, MEG, WILL I NOT, THOUGH MY HEART GROW FAINT.

• 436 pages 5 stars I have been fascinated by Thomas More ever since I was a child at Catholic school. (That was a significant time ago.) I thought him a sincere and holy man. I didn't really know much about him other than he was elevated to sainthood in 1935. Since then, I have learned a great deal more. More was to serve the King for several years. He was King Henry VIII's chancellor until he ran afoul of Henry's “Great Matter” in 1535. More refused to accept Henry as head of the Church of England. He firmly believed that religious matters, such as they were in the 16th Century, were and should be under the auspices of the Catholic Church. Only the pope had the authority to dissolve marriages or proclaim church doctrine. More's unyielding belief in this led to his death by beheading in 1535. There were many other facts stated by Mr. Chambers in this book which I knew, but I knew little about his early life. I did not know about More's internal battle between joining the monastic life and doing what his father want – to become a lawyer. I appreciate Mr. Chambers' addition to the argument of Henry vs. the Pope who would not or could not help him with his “divorce” from Catherine of Aragon. This is a point of view that I had not considered. That so much of England's wealth and soldiery went to propping up the Papal States and then the Pope wouldn't assist Henry in his time of “need.” No wonder Henry went off. Interesting point of view. I shall ponder this. He goes on to say that this account for Henry's rage at More. This, I do not follow. Is this because More was such a defender of the Papacy? We get a glimpse of More's duties for the king as well as his private life. Apparently, his second wife Alice was quite the woman. We learn a great deal about what his contemporaries thought of him. He was greatly respected for his learning, quick mind and his wry sense of humor. He educated both sons and daughters in several subjects, including what we now call the classics. (Although he was criticized for educating the daughters in this manner.) Perhaps it should be mentioned the apparent dissonance of More's actions in being such a good Catholic and yet he burned those he saw as heretics. Perhaps he just saw it as his duty, a part of being a good Catholic and following the teachings of the Pope and his clergy. It does rankle. However and doesn't seem consistent with his belief system. This is a wonderful book to read. The style is easily accessible to all and is written in an interesting and conversational manner. It is not at all dry or stuffy as sometime biographies are. I truly enjoyed this book and will always treasure the additional tidbits that I have learned about this great man.

• Still the best survey of this fascinating character. Recent scholarship has added more detail but Chambers 'gets under the skin of his subject' in a convinging way.

• I have had an obsession with Thomas More since the day in 1967 when three extraordinary teachers put the 150 eighth graders in my school on public transportation and took us to see "A Man for All Seasons," after it had won the Academy Award. My understanding is that at the time Robert Bolt wrote "A Man for All Seasons," Professor Chambers' biography was considered the definitive life of More. There were times as I read it when I couldn't help wondering why More's subsequent biographers went to the trouble of writing about him. That is certainly unfair. The More biographies by the late Richard Marius and Peter Ackroyd certainly have great value, just to name two. It should be enough to say that Chambers' work is an elegant, classical biography, an example of biography as real literature. His epilogue, "More's Place in History," is worth reading even aside from the rest of the book. (Perhaps ironically, Richard Marius was scathing in his description of Chambers' book in his book. But I do not see a conflict between respecting Marius' book and disagreeing with his judgment of Chambers.)

• It's not a new book so the writing is a bit flowery. I have given up ( at the moment) as I have other books to read but may well have another go. One day.

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