Peter AckroydThe Life of Thomas More

Found the book very interesting, but found the writing to be that of a very pretentious person. The amount of old English spelling was way overused.

Given the large number of Thomas More biographies, it's worth asking what this one has that others lack.William Roper's Life rests on personal acquaintance, written in a beautiful 16th century English. R.W. Chambers' biography, penned at a time of growing European fascism, sees More as the English Socrates, the principled humanist facing down tyranny--the perspective memorably dramatized in Robert Bolt's play. Richard Marius' biography, considerably less adulatory, profits from the author's detailed (if wearied) familiarity with the whole range of More's writing. And John Guy, in his "Public Career," focuses on More's legal and political work.Ackroyd excels in placing More's life in the context of his place and time, taking us into the daily life of a London still part of a late medieval Catholic culture, but making the rough transition, not to a secular world, but to a world of royal supremacy in all things. Ackroyd's highlighting of More's opposition to that change may make him appear more conservative than he was; the author of Utopia plainly was capable on envisioning a polity radically different from that of Henry's England. But the More who imagined a society-wide monastic communism could hardly have gone along with a program that, instead, ended in abolishing monasticism entirely.Some reviewers here have complained of Ackroyd's frequent quotation of un-modernized 16th century English. It does slow you down when it appears, but I think it enhances his aim to get us, as close as possible, to the sensory setting--sights, sounds, even smells of the contemporary scene. This is an enjoyable book which, neither hagiography nor anti-hagiography, is as even-handed as one could hope for at a time when More's legacy and character has become more controversial in popular literature.

Sir Thomas More lived by his beliefs and died for them. He is an ancestor so had to get the book.

Akroyd's work places Thomas More in context of the social, polictical, economical, eccelsiastical, and humanistic milieu of the sixteenth century Catholic England "More" knew. Other biographers are a bit more anachronistic in dealing with More's world and end up conjuring a sixteenth century "they" understand instead...Akroyd is far from this. Akroyd gives a vivid account of More's surroundings - his schools, were he lived, the churches and charter houses he frequented, and Catholic England in general. This doesn't suprise me since Akroyd is a Londoner himself. He also paints a wonderful picture of the piety pre-reformation England was akin to and describes the "common faith" all Londoner's held without trying to stigmatize anything and everything possible as other authors who write their histories out a reformation lense tend to do. So I found a More properly placed in his time and surroundings free from unecessary predjudice and critical pomp with a certain twist that surfaces More's personality and conscience in an age of importance and transition.

One of the greatest minds to come out of a tumultuous times. Would that more politicians were like this Man For All Seasons.Mr. Ackroyd tells a wonderful story of this More's life, his career in Tudor Politics, his fall from power (and why) and the stalwart manner in which he remained true to himself, and his convictions informed by a stalwart and imperishable Catholic Faith.All politicians should read the life of Thomas More

Before I purchased this book, I researched other biographies of Thomas More, and this one is supposed to be the most balanced and complete of them all. It moves chronologically through More's life, supplying abundant fascinating details about politics, religion and culture, and 16th-century life. Far from being dry, the book is so well-written (with numerous quotes in the original spellings) that even accounts of legal haggling are interesting. Highly recommended.

I bought this as a gift for my husband. This is his type of literature and he enjoyed reading it.

This book requires focus. I had previously read much about the Tudor period, some light, some serious, before this demanding biography. It's a thorough and detailed book. Given More's brilliant intellect and career, understanding his story requires commitment. The author writes with clarity and energy. I appreciated the unbiased yet empathetic view Ackroyd presents. We learn equally about More's flaws (superstitious, scathing, rigid, devious) and virtues (dutiful, discrete, skillful, loyal, pious). The author examines More's evolution from avid humanist to persecuting polemic to his final integrity-inspired stand against the Act of Royal Supremacy.

There were times reading this book where the author made to many assumptions encased in intellectual snobbery with reference to Latin phrases and olde English where no translations were made for the benefit of the general reader. With references to philosophers and their writings, the assumption was continually made by the the author that the general reader had the necessary background knowledge to understand the points he was making based on who these people were and what the thrust of their specific writings contained. It is not surprising that the award the author earned for this book was from an academic institution.If you buy this book as a general reader —- beware. I feel this book is better suited for students and researchers interested in this Tudor era. Notwithstanding these opinions, It was worth the effort to read those areas of the book I understood.

This is a particularly interesting read, from the perspective that we get to know much more about Thomas More than we would from reading, say a history of Tudor times, or a history or Henry VIII. This is because it was not until More was in his thirties that he became a councillor of Henry VIII, despite having worked closely with the Tudor government and law enforcement agencies since becoming a lawyer, under-sheriff and diplomat. It felt like it was at this point in the book that Thomas More became somewhat of a different man. Perhaps the pressure of working so closely with the King made him more intransigent, or maybe the circumstances of his role now made his views so much more sharp and clearcut to the observer. Let's face it, no biography of Thomas More is ever really going to explain the mind that worked inside the man's head - he just was never the kind of person that is so easily or readily explained.It is intriguing to read the life that More led before he became so closely involved with Henry VIII - admittedly much of it is surmised from the circumstances of life in the times, and the little that is known for sure about Thomas' upbringing and career path. But it is clear from the friendships that he had with such people as Erasmus, Linacre, Colet and others that his mind was sharp, he was a `thinker' for the new times; but at some level he never really let himself go from the `old' times - his reverence for duty, the Church, the Catholic religion and to do `what was right' held him bound tightly against the changing tide. And perhaps that's where his downfall was - the right man in the wrong time; the wrong man in the right time; wherever and whenever he was, it seems that he never quite `fitted'. Ultimately his sense of duty and correctness led to his fatal error in challenging the King's authority - More must have known the futility of doing that, given what happened to Wolsey and others, but he remained true to his convictions, even at the cost of his life.While that may seem admirable (if to us now maybe a little foolish) More does not come across as a particularly likeable man - he used sarcasm in letter and conversation against people (although he saved others from looking foolish); he spent much of his early life arguing for the new `humanism' in study (but much of his later life condeming those who fought against the `system'); he worked for his King yet would not deny the primacy of the Pope. I'm not sure I could describe him as a `man for all seasons' - more a man of a mass of contradictions; someone you can never really get to know because they never really show their true self. Perhaps that was what led to his downfall; Henry VIII appointed More his Lord Chancellor even though More could never endorse the king's `great matter'. It seems that even the King could not read More to his full advantage.This book is also valuable to an interested reader for analyses of some of More's writings - in particular Utopia and his responses to Luther's writings - More's works show eruditon, wit and a deep and interested mind, yet a scathing wit, brutal humour and a complete inability to see the other side of an argument with which he could not agree. A brilliant book; well worth reading to aid with a rounded view of Tudor life, and of More's life in particular. Ackroyd's descriptions of London life are also vivid and colourful; and add a touch of humanity to what could otherwise be a cold and scholarly/political life. Highly recommended.

Took me three pages to acclimatize to Ackroyds writing style, then once I got into his style and flow I thoroughly enjoyed this intense biography that covers everything possible on the life of the controversial Thomas More. Well worth the £2.99. A great read.

Currently reading this book which I am finding extremely educational and informative - to say nothing of enjoyment!

Not very fluid, the text is constantly broken up by quotes which doesn't make for easy reading. Amateur historians will find it tedious and exasperating to read - probably one for more professional historians.