The Life of Sir Thomas More

by William Roper

Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only

Written
written c. 1556, published 1626
Language
English
Length
Short · 60 ppunder 120 pages
Difficulty
Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader

We recommendTwo Early Tudor LivesYale University Press, 1962Prints Roper's Life with Cavendish's Life of Wolsey in modernised spelling with notes.

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A short memoir of Thomas More by his son-in-law, who lived in More's household for sixteen years, written under Mary I as a source for a fuller biography. Roper records More's rise to Lord Chancellor, his conversations with Henry VIII in the garden at Chelsea, his refusal to swear the oath acknowledging the king's supremacy over the church, his imprisonment in the Tower, his trial on the testimony of Richard Rich, and his execution in 1535. The scenes of More's parting from his daughter Margaret at the Tower wharf were the source for the play A Man for All Seasons.

No reading guide yet

The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Life of Sir Thomas More are verified against each program's published list.

What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.

Browse the 48 works that do have a guide →

The Mirrour of Vertue in Worldly Greatnes, Roper's Life of More, Thomas More, Henry VIII, Margaret Roper, Chelsea, Tower of London, oath of supremacy, Richard Rich, Wolsey, A Man for All Seasons