{"product_id":"thomas-more-a-life-and-death-in-tudor-england-9781405953627","title":"Thomas More: A Life and Death in Tudor England","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWorshipped as a saint, detested as a torturer, admired as revolutionary, condemned as dogmatic: the definitive biography of the man who dominated England in the first half of the 16th century  Thomas More is one of the most famous - or infamous - figures in English history. Is he a saintly scholar and an inspiration for statesmen, socialists and intellectuals even today? Or is he the stubborn zealot famously portrayed in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall?  Here is the definitive biography of this hypnotic, flawed figure. Overturning many interpretations of the sixteenth century, Joanne Paul shows More to have been an intellectual and political giant of his age, central to the making of modern Europe. Drawing on new archival discoveries and over a decade's research into More's life and work, this is a richly-told story of family, faith and politics.\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781405953627\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 576\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 02 Jun 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Penguin Books Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.8(H)x12.8(L)x3.9(W)410\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 410\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eJoanne Paul is a writer, broadcaster, consultant, and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Intellectual History at the University of Sussex. A BBC\/AHRC New Generation Thinker, her research focuses on the intellectual and cultural history of the Renaissance and Early Modern periods. She has written for the Cambridge University Press 'Ideas in Context' series, and has been widely praised for her work on Thomas More, William Shakespeare, Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes. Her current academic project is an edition of Thomas More's Utopia for the Oxford University Press.    Her first book for the trade, The House of Dudley was published in 2022. Thomas More: A Life was published in May 2025.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003eTo show us More as other than \u003cb\u003esaint\u003c\/b\u003e or \u003cb\u003evillain\u003c\/b\u003e, [Paul's] \u003cb\u003ereadable biography\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eimmerses\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eus\u003c\/b\u003e in More's busy, messy and changing world ... \u003cb\u003eengrossing\u003c\/b\u003e * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eFans of \u003ci\u003eThe House of Dudley\u003c\/i\u003e – and , indeed , of \u003ci\u003eWolf Hall\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Man for All Seasons\u003c\/i\u003e - will find much to enjoy in this \u003cb\u003eimmersive\u003c\/b\u003e , \u003cb\u003erichly told account of life\u003c\/b\u003e , \u003cb\u003edeath\u003c\/b\u003e , \u003cb\u003efaith\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003epolitics\u003c\/b\u003e at the \u003cb\u003eearly Tudor court\u003c\/b\u003e * SPECTATOR *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWonderful, riveting, subtle. Captures beautifully the life of More\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eand the\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003efading world he died to preserve\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaul skilfully conveys the stakes\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eachieving balance between expertise and style\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaul is brilliant\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eat bringing the swirl of Catholic England to life\u003c\/b\u003e: its candlelit rituals, Latin prayers and saints’ days, punctuated by tinkling royal processions -- Alice Hunt * THE TIMES *\u003cbr\u003eSignificant. Goes further than most in seeking the essentials of the 'historical' More. Paul is terrific at evoking the sights and spaces of early 16th-century London, along with the forms and feel of clothing and objects. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, much to admire and enjoy * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE definitive biography\u003c\/b\u003e of one of history’s most \u003cb\u003ecomplex\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eoften inscrutable characters\u003c\/b\u003e -- NATHEN AMIN, author of Son of Prophesy: The Rise of Henry Tudor\u003cbr\u003eJoanne Paul has created \u003cb\u003ea portrait of Thomas More\u003c\/b\u003e that is \u003cb\u003eepic\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eintimate\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eprofoundly relatable\u003c\/b\u003e to the \u003cb\u003emodern reader\u003c\/b\u003e. In Paul’s hands he is neither overly good nor bad; he just \u003ci\u003eis\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cb\u003eWe are in a new age of tyrants\u003c\/b\u003e – Thomas More shows the \u003cb\u003enecessity of speaking truth to power at all costs\u003c\/b\u003e -- LEAH REDMOND CHANG, Women’s Prize longlisted historian of Young Queens\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eForget […] Hilary Mantel’s caricatures. In this excellent study, Thomas More is reborn as a complex, absorbing man\u003c\/b\u003e * DAILY TELEGRAPH *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVery\u003c\/i\u003e impressive\u003c\/b\u003e -- ALISON WEIR\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA work of proper scholarly history\u003c\/b\u003e as well as \u003cb\u003ea wonderful narrative read...\u003c\/b\u003eJoanne Paul goes back to the words More wrote himself, to try and get at More before fame and the accusations against him took hold. \u003cb\u003eI so enjoyed the result\u003c\/b\u003e -- SUSANNAH LIPSCOMB","brand":"Dr Joanne Paul","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48997122932953,"sku":"9781405953627","price":28.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781405953627.jpg?v=1784734423","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/thomas-more-a-life-and-death-in-tudor-england-9781405953627","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}