A companion to Thomas More.

9780838642153

A companion to Thomas More.

Ed. by A.D. Cousins and Damian Grace.

Fairleigh Dickinson U.P.

2009

253 pages

$58.00

Hardcover

PR2322

Thomas More is known as the author of the Utopia, still studied in high schools and colleges. As the hero of Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons, he is portrayed as a martyr to freedom of conscience. In this collection of essays on More, Cousins (English, Macquarie University, new South Wales) and Grace (history and philosophy, UNSW, Sidney, Au.) present the many faces of More. The first essay reviews contemporary biographies of More, hagiographic by Catholics and pejorative by Protestants. The second looks at modern biographies, which all too often are based on early legends. Two other essays treat the humanistic friendship of More and Erasmus. The remainder analyze More through his writing, from early work, through the Utopia to his final Boethian works completed while imprisoned in the Tower of London before his execution. The essays as a whole present a balanced introduction to a complex and influential man.

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