Thomas More

Fans of The House of Dudley – and , indeed , of Wolf Hall and A Man for All Seasons - will find much to enjoy in this immersive , richly told account of life , death , faith and politics at the early Tudor court

SPECTATOR

Joanne Paul has created a portrait of Thomas More that is epic, intimate and profoundly relatable to the modern reader. In Paul’s hands he is neither overly good nor bad; he just is. We are in a new age of tyrants – Thomas More shows the necessity of speaking truth to power at all costs

LEAH REDMOND CHANG, Women’s Prize longlisted historian of Young Queens

Forget […] Hilary Mantel’s caricatures. In this excellent study, Thomas More is reborn as a complex, absorbing man

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Very impressive

ALISON WEIR

A work of proper scholarly history as well as a wonderful narrative read...Joanne Paul goes back to the words More wrote himself, to try and get at More before fame and the accusations against him took hold. I so enjoyed the result

SUSANNAH LIPSCOMB

THE definitive biography of one of history’s most complex and often inscrutable characters

NATHEN AMIN, author of Son of Prophesy: The Rise of Henry Tudor

Paul gives us a movingly human picture of a family man, scholar, politician and, ultimately, political martyr. As compelling as a novel, the story of More's rise and fall is vividly told

ELIZABETH NORTON

To show us More as other than saint or villain, [Paul's] readable biography immerses us in More's busy, messy and changing world ... engrossing

The Times

Paul is brilliant at bringing the swirl of Catholic England to life: its candlelit rituals, Latin prayers and saints’ days, punctuated by tinkling royal processions

Alice Hunt, THE TIMES

Significant. 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

Wonderful, riveting, subtle. Captures beautifully the life of More and the fading world he died to preserve. Paul skilfully conveys the stakes, achieving balance between expertise and style

Wall Street Journal

Praise for Joanne Paul

Death, desire, power and scandal - this is riveting stuff. Paul produces a well-written, historically grounded page-turner

Spectator

A spectacular achievement

Nicola Tallis

Absorbing, meticulously researched and expertly executed

Lindsey Fitzharris

Brilliant and lucid. This is an original and illuminating work

Suzannah Lipscomb