Joanne Paul’s Thomas More: A Life is a biography of one of 16th Century England’s most enigmatic figures. Drawing on over a decade of archival work, Paul constructs a portrait of More as a complex, intellectually rigorous, and deeply conflicted statesman rooted firmly in his faith and family.
Paul effectively immerses the reader in the shifting currents of late-medieval Catholic England, guided largely by the whims of a lovelorn Henry VIII in search of a wife who could give birth to a male heir. More emerges not merely as a conservative zealot, as popular portrayals might suggest, but as a deeply thoughtful man that is worn and weighed by the pressures of his faith, his country, and also his family. The narrative unfolds with a pace that is both compelling and scholarly. More’s writing, especially his poignant spiritual letters written during his final trials, is a valuable contribution to the author’s development and portrayal of More.
Paul shows More as neither monster nor martyr, but as a Renaissance man wrestling with the demands of conscience in an age of fracturing authority and in an age where faith and reason are increasingly colliding.
Thomas More: A Life stands out as a clear narrative that brings More’s values into vivid focus. Students of the Reformation era, Henry VIII, and the Catholic-Anglican split will certainly benefit from this biography.
MY RATING: 4.5
