Saint Thomas More: Selected Writings

In the first selection in decades made for the general reader from his collected works, this volume traces More’s journey of moral conviction in his own words and writings. Drawing on a variety of More’s late writings–the extraordinary “Tower Works,” written in prison, his poignant last letters to his daughter Margaret, and his poems, private prayers and devotional works–this collection will provide even readers lacking a background in Renaissance humanism or history with a rich introduction to a startlingly modern man of spiritual principle. Also included is the famous “Life of Sir Thomas More,” written by his son-in-law, William Roper.

In the annals of spirituality certain books stand out both for their historical importance and for their continued relevance. The Vintage Spiritual Classics series offers the greatest of these works in authoritative new editions, with specially commissioned essays by noted contemporary commentators. Filled with eloquence and fresh insight, encouragement and solace, Vintage Spiritual Classics are incomparable resources for all readers who seek a more substantive understanding of mankind's relation to the divine.

Thomas More is perhaps most familiar to us from his courageous struggle with Henry VIII, unforgettably portrayed in Robert Bolt’s classic, A Man for All Seasons. But that final struggle, which ended in his execution for treason, was only the crowning act in a life that he had devoted to God long before.

In the first selection in decades made for the general reader from his collected works, this volume traces More’s journey of moral conviction in his own words and writings. Drawing on a variety of More’s late writings–the extraordinary “Tower Works,” written in prison, his poignant last letters to his daughter Margaret, and his poems, private prayers and devotional works–this collection will provide even readers lacking a background in Renaissance humanism or history with a rich introduction to a startlingly modern man of spiritual principle. Also included is the famous “Life of Sir Thomas More,” written by his son-in-law, William Roper.

In the annals of spirituality certain books stand out both for their historical importance and for their continued relevance. The Vintage Spiritual Classics series offers the greatest of these works in authoritative new editions, with specially commissioned essays by noted contemporary commentators. Filled with eloquence and fresh insight, encouragement and solace, Vintage Spiritual Classics are incomparable resources for all readers who seek a more substantive understanding of mankind's relation to the divine.

Library Journal

These are both good times and bad times for Thomas More (1475-1535). The handsome Yale edition of his complete works and the perennial charm of the play and film Man for All Seasons keeps More's name and deeds alive, yet recent scholarship and reevaluations of his life have cast a long shadow over his legacy. Was he a great humanist Christian of the Renaissance? A distinguished writer and champion of moral conscience? Or a politician who lost his last round of brinkmanship? This new selection of his writings, aimed at general readers rather than scholars, may not answer our questions, but it includes his unfinished meditation on the sorrow of Christ, selected prayers, his letters from prison, and his son-in-law's brief biography of him (though not More's own celebrated but highly ambiguous Utopia). Modern readers are likely to find More's Christianity rather sour and confined, and, as the editors remind us, the motives for his famous refusal to endorse Henry VIII's divorce are far more conservative than Man for All Seasons allows-but his behavior after the sentence of death had been passed is admirably heroic. For most collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Thomas More (1478-1535) rose from humble origins to achieve the highest political and judicial office of England, second only to the king. He was recognized throughout Europe as one of the great lawyers, Christian humanists, and classical scholars of his day. Despite refusing to endorse Henry VIII's plan to divorce Katherine, More became Lord Chancellor in 1529. He resigned in 1532 in disapproval of Henry's stance toward the church. He refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn in June 1533, a matter which did not escape the King's notice. In April, 1534, More refused to swear to the Act of Succession, and the Oath of Supremacy, and was committed to the Tower of London on April 17. He was found guilty of treason and was beheaded on July 6, 1535. His final words on the scaffold were: "The King's good servant, but God's first." In 1935 Thomas More was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. In 2000 Pope John Paul II declared him the patron saint of politicians.