Edited by Stephen Smith
Foreword by Gerard Wegemer
For the first time in forty years, the selected letters of St. Thomas More—son, husband, father, friend, statesman and martyr—are now available in this newly edited volume for the contemporary reader. Moving from the days of his youth to the startling drama of his final years, this collection serves as a “life in letters” and offers the reader fresh insight into More’s education, formation, and character, visible both in season and out of season, in little matters as well as great controversies.
The first English writer to use the word “integrity,” More struggled to live as well as he wrote, with personal virtue, solid piety, and a well-formed conscience. These letters reflect all the facets of his humanity and personality, and through them, one may begin to glimpse the living face of this famous “man for all seasons,” as he was known even in his own time.
In addition to the letters from Thomas More, the book offers introductory notes on the family members, friends, and other historical figures relevant to his life’s history.
St. Thomas More was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He was a Councillor to Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to May 1532. He is known for his 1516 book Utopia and for his death in 1535, after refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. He was canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint in 1935.
More opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of Martin Luther and William Tyndale. More also opposed the king's separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason and beheaded. Of his execution, he was reported to have said: "I die the King's good servant, and God's first."
Pope Pius XI canonized More in 1935 as a martyr. Pope John Paul II in 2000 declared him the "heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians."
| SKU/ISBN | 9781594171635 |
| Product Number | 71635 |
| Size | 5.5 x 8.5 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | 361 |
