This is a rich and erudite biography, replete with literary and theological references. As would be expected from this author, the theme of More as a Londoner is brought out quite clearly. The overriding theme, however, is of More as essentially a man of his time, the last great representative of late Medieval Catholicism, with a deeply ingrained belief in order, harmony and peaceful uniformity as represented by the collective piety of his religion, still at this early stage shared by the great bulk of the population of London and most of the country. That explains his hatred and violence towards the heretics whom he saw as disturbers of all order and civilisation in the world, not just of the Catholic church; it is the aspect of his life that is most disturbing to the modern reader, seeming to conflict harshly with his great conscience and the heroic nature of his death. But he must be seen in the context of his time when many great educated men on all sides of the religious divide believed in causing the deaths of their opponents to save those opponents' souls. A great, if not easy read, though I felt it lost its way a bit in the middle. ( )

A meticulously researched and well-written portrait of Thomas More. Ackroyd has a gift for making his subject come alive, and teasing out the nuances of the primary source material in a subtle and insightful way. There's nothing in here that's really new or startling—unsurprising, perhaps, given how well-studied More has been in the centuries since his death—but Ackroyd presents it in such a way as to give one of the most lucid and complete biographies of the man that we possess. ( )

From my 50 book challenge as "bookiemonster81":

I liked the way in which Ackroyd gave the reader a sense of More as a man in his time--a time on the brink of great and unfathomable disruption. We first get More's childhood and adolescence--spiced with Ackroyd's admirable knowledge, fascinating anecdotes, and unconditional love of the city so familiar from his wonderful, favorite-list-topping urban "biography," London. We also get to see how More fit into the world of European Renaissance humanism, religious turmoil, and courtly intrigue.

What I really appreciated about the work was that the reader got a many-sided look at More. One of my favorite movies is A Man for All Seasons, based on the play by Robert Bolt. A fantastic work, but the play and film portray only the admirable qualities of a man who died for his faith and principles--not his actions we would consider less than heroic today (such as the burning of Protestant "heretics"). Ackroyd gives these less palatable actions equal consideration, and helps us understand them in their historical context. I am not a Catholic, so I don't have any particular attachment to More as a martyr, but I do think he was a complex individual who deserves the unflinching and in-depth attention he gets in this thorough biography. ( )

Captivating, complete biography that sets Thomas More firmly within the context of his time, place and beliefs on the cusp of the Reformation. Excellent. ( )

Peter Ackroyd is the quintessential London writer. His wonderful biography of Dickens was lit not only by his love and understanding of the writer, but also of the city which Dickens made his own. Recent novels such as The House of Doctor Dee and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem may have taken liberties with historical fact, but their London is a fascinating, pulsating place, more their true protagonist than their eponymous heroes.

Thomas More is a prime candidate for the London treatment. Born in the city, with a life of official city duties at a time when London was highly distinct from Westminster and the court, he imbued his writings (especially Richard III and his print debate with Tyndale) with a real sense of London's uniqueness. Ackroyd's treatment is thus both apposite and, of course, highly readable. He possesses a real gift for making dry history come alive with telling detail and vivid swathes of local colour. But while the new angle might imply a new understanding of the man, ultimately, the picture is overly familiar. Ackroyd's More comes out looking very much like Robert Bolt's Man for All Seasons More--a hinge between dark medievalism and modern secular conscience. Only this time he has an inner London postcode.

Pre-eminent as a courtier and a humanist, a friend to Henry VIII and the author of "Utopia", Thomas More is one of the great figures of England's history; his life and career epitomize the great transformation of the country in the space of 35 years. This biography investigates the paradox of this "man for all seasons": the man of the world who travelled across Europe to negotiate on behalf of his king, and the unworldly man whose careful silence on the matter of Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn would lead to his disgrace and execution. The book provides a portrait of the first English layman to be beatified as a martyr, and of the social and cultural world in which he lived.