G W Bernard
‘Farewell, My Dear Child, & Pray For Me
A Daughter’s Love: Thomas and Margaret More
By John Guy
Fourth Estate 378pp £25
In the preface to a study of Thomas More published in 2000, John Guy roundly declared: ‘I no longer believe that a truly historical biography of Thomas More can be written.’ That was because ‘the sources are too problematic’. Many of the details of More’s life come to us from the lives written in the sixteenth century by William Roper (his son-in-law), Nicholas Harpsfield and Thomas Stapleton. They wrote long after More had been executed in 1535 for refusing to swear the oath of succession imposed by Henry VIII: an oath that would have committed him to accepting not just Henry’s divorce but also the break with Rome. And since they wrote to vindicate his stand, they cannot be treated as straightforwardly accurate sources. For that reason Guy arranged his earlier book by themes, each chapter title followed by a question mark (for example, ‘Heresy Hunter?’, ‘Politician?’, ‘Acquiescence or Resistance?’).
Now Guy returns to Thomas More, but on this occasion he attempts to do what he then thought impossible, namely to tell the story of his life. He does so with a distinctive twist, indicated by his title. More’s daughter, Margaret, was a remarkable woman, a beneficiary of his insistence
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm