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Books about Thomas More :
Utopia (Penguin Classics) by Thomas More
More's Utopia and Utopian Literature (Cliffs Notes)
(1478-1535). One of the most respected figures in English history, Thomas More was a statesman, scholar,
and author. He was noted for his wit and also for his devotion to his religion. More was executed as a traitor
for his refusal to acknowledge King Henry VIII's supremacy over the church. The story of More's life and death
became familiar to many through Robert Bolt's play, 'A Man for All Seasons', first performed in 1960.
Thomas More was born in London on Feb. 7, 1478. His father was Sir John More, a prominent barrister. While in his
early teens, young More entered the household of Cardinal Morton as a page. Later he attended Canterbury Hall,
Oxford. The great Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus became his close friend. More, Erasmus, and John Colet, the
distinguished dean of London's St. Paul's Cathedral, were leaders of a group of scholars and religious reformers.
This group, which became known as the Oxford Reformers, did much to promote the Renaissance in England. More entered
the profession of law, in which he gained distinction. His religious piety led him to fast, pray, and do penance.
For a time he hoped to enter the priesthood. Throughout his life More's deep religious convictions dominated his
actions.
He married Jane Colte in 1505, and they had four children. Shortly after More's first wife died in 1511, he married
Alice Middleton, a widow with one daughter.
More became a member of Parliament. He was disliked by Henry VII, whom he opposed on financial matters. The accession
of Henry VIII brought More to a high place at court. On Cardinal Wolsey's fall from power in 1529, More was made
lord chancellor--the first time that the office had been held by a layman.
When Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon, More as a loyal churchman resigned his office on the plea of ill
health. He refused to acknowledge Henry's claim to be head of the English church. For this defiance the king had
More--together with Bishop Fisher and others--committed to the Tower on a charge of treason. He was beheaded on
Tower Hill on July 6, 1535. This was made his festival day when he was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935, 400 years
later.
More is famous not only as a statesman and religious martyr but also as an author. 'A Dialogue of Comfort Against
Tribulation', written in 1534 while he was in prison, shows his faith and his calm courage. Perhaps his best-known
work is his 'Utopia' (1516). Utopia, which is Greek for "nowhere," is the name of an imaginary island
with a happy society, free from all cares, anxieties, and miseries (see Utopian
Literature).
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