Book Review: The King's Good Servant But God's First by James Monti

The King's Good Servant But God's First: The Life and Writings of Saint Thomas More by James Monti

This biography of Saint Thomas More tells his life story using his writings and many of the early biographies, along with the most recent scholarship (the book was publish in 1997, so "most recent" is relative). The book covers everything from birth to death, along with some comments about More's historical impact in an epilogue. The author focuses on More's own writings, examining them in detail.

The historical parts of this book are quite interesting and give a detailed look at Thomas More's life. His early life and his exploration of a possible vocation as a Carthusian monk were new and very interesting to me. His rise in English government, all the way to Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII, is presented in a scholarly and interesting way. More's final years, when he was one of the few high ranking Englishmen to refuse the Oath of Supremacy (acknowledging Henry as the supreme head of the Catholic Church in England), is covered in fascinating detail. His trial and death for treason against the king have an even greater depth than as seen in A Man for All Seasons.

A good third of the book's approximately 450 pages goes through More's writings against the English Protestant thinkers of his time. Reading through an analysis of tract after tract of arguments defending the Catholic faith in amazing detail becomes a bit daunting. While the discussion fills in details of More's life and his character, it is dry and less engaging than the more historical parts of the book. I wish I had skimmed more.

As one might guess from such a deep excursion into More's theological writings, the book is unabashedly Catholic in its admiration of More. He certainly is a model Christian--humble, pious, generous, humorous, and intelligent. His wit shines throughout his life and his final days were filled with prayers that his friends and family and even his persecutors might meet again in Heaven "where we shall be merry for ever and ever." [p. 457, quoted from Roper's The Lyfe of Sir Thomas Moore, Knighte). More's embodiment of both intelligence and happiness is highly admirable. He had such a disposition because of his deep devotion, his profound faith. His love of Christ, especially in the Eucharist, gave him a more profound understanding of the importance of things in life. He kept his silence about why he wouldn't take the Oath in hopes that he would evade martyrdom but trusted that, if it came to that end, he would be given the grace to die a good death. That he certainly did.

I'd recommend the book with a strong caveat about the large amounts of literary and theological analysis that can slow things down.

Book Review: Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage by Gerard B. Wegemer

Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage by Gerard B. Wegemer

This birth-to-death biography of Saint Thomas More has an interesting twist. As it goes through the personal history of More, it stops to review his various writings when he wrote them. Thomas More was the first great Christian humanist to write in English. He was close friends with Desiderius Erasmus, a Dutchman who was also a scholar and committed Christian. They studied and translated the Greek classics and both agreed that humor was a more persuasive weapon in the literary arsenal than dry logic or harsh rhetoric. More wrote poetic and literary works (the most famous being Utopia) as well as theological reflections (like his commentary on the Christ's Passion). As author Wegemer describes More's family life and career, he throws in chapters reviewing the contents and significance of works written by More. Having the literary output interwoven with the biographical history gives the reader a deeper understanding of More's character.

The book is a little bit repetitive. Sometimes the life story gets ahead of itself and is repeated later on. Favorite little anecdotes show up multiple times, such as More's desire "to think my greatest enemies my best friends: For the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred." [p. 192, also p. 219] This is a reference the Book of Genesis. Jacob's son Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and taken off to Egypt where he eventually became a high official and was able to save his family from famine. The repetition is only a minor distraction and makes me wonder if some chapters were written as separate essays before the whole book was written.

Reading this after seeing A Man For All Seasons (the 1966 movie) is also fascinating. Many of the speeches in the movie are taken verbatim from the actual recorded words of Thomas. Some details in the movie are left out (like More's other children besides Meg or other charges More had to answer in his final trial), which is both typical and to be expected in a theatrical presentation of More's life. The book gives a fuller, even more inspiring portrait of this saint of great integrity, intelligence, and humor.

Highly recommended!

Movie Review: A Man for All Seasons (1966)

A Man for All Seasons (1966) written by Robert Bolt (from his stage play) and directed by Fred Zinnemann

This faithful telling of Saint Thomas More's life is not so much a life-to-death biography but a character portrait drawn from the final years of his life.

The movie begins with the great controversy of the time, King Henry VIII's desire to divorce his wife Catherine. They've been unable to produce a male heir and Henry has become infatuated with Anne Boleyn. The Chancellor of England, Cardinal Wolsey, has failed to convince Rome to allow the divorce. When Wolsey interviews More in the film's first scene, More explains the tricky situation--the pope made a dispensation so that Henry could marry Catherine (she was Henry's brother's widow) and now they are going to ask for a dispensation from the dispensation. Awkward. More refuses to support Wolsey's efforts which Wolsey finds annoying. Soon enough, Wolsey dies and More is named the next chancellor (ahead of the scheming Thomas Cromwell, secretary to Wolsey). The king visits Thomas at home and has a difficult conversation about the situation. Henry is convinced that he is living in sin by being married to his brother's wife and the lack of male heirs is a sign of God's punishment. More is resolute, though as non-confrontational as he can be--he will not help with the divorce. The king tries his utmost to convince him but finally promises More that he will leave More out of the issue. Henry isn't yet the bloated tyrant who kills off his wives willy nilly, though it is easy to see how he gets there from here.

The deeper issue is the King wants More's approval because More is the most honest man he knows. His integrity is all the more impressive because he is very intelligent and very compassionate. More's daughter is interested romantically in Will Roper, a man who's converted to Lutheranism. More refuses to allow a marriage but leaves things open if Roper will come back to the church. He doesn't forbid them from seeing each other and gives Roper subtle nudges to encourage his return. Richard Rich is a young colleague of More's who wants a position at court. More recommends a teaching position, something with little appeal to the ambitious Rich. More knows Rich will have a hard time resisting the corruption at court. Rich vacillates between More, whom he admires for his integrity, and Cromwell, who is more willing to advance Rich (but with costs). The king knows More's character and that his approval would be a sign that Henry is right in divorcing Catherine. But More won't go that far.

The movie is a great portrait of More's integrity, showing the amazing balance of intelligence, honesty, and humility that makes him a man for all seasons. The movie is based on Robert Bolt's stage play but is successfully transformed into a movie with a good variety of locations and a fairly large cast. The actors are all excellent. Paul Scofield rightly won the Oscar for Best Actor as More. Robert Shaw plays Henry VIII with a boyish vitality that shows his appeal to his subjects but also hints at the childish selfishness that is turning him into a monster.

Sure enough, the good folks at A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast discussed this film on their 88th episode, and it is definitely worth listening to.

Book Review: Sir Thomas More by William Shakespeare et al.

Sir Thomas More by William Shakespeare et al., edited by John Jowett

Since today is the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, what better way to celebrate the saint than review a book about him. Actually, there are probably a lot of better ways to celebrate, but we do what we can...

While browsing through one of the Shakespeare bookstores in Stratford-upon-Avon this volume caught my eye. I had never heard that Shakespeare wrote a play on Thomas More. After looking through it at the store it was clear he hadn't written the entire play. He was one of about four other authors and he revised an already prepared text. Loving St. Thomas More as I do, I couldn't resist and bought the book.

The book is part of the Arden Shakespeare series, a scholarly series designed to support both literary research and theatrical presentation. The introduction is 120 pages, covering the history of writing the play, prominent themes in the play, sources used by the playwrights, performance history, and staging advice. It's quite comprehensive if occasionally bogged down in critical literary jargon, for example this passage concerning a scene where Thomas More and his servant Randall swap clothes to see if they can fool Erasmus into thinking Randall is More:

The exchange of costumes for the purpose of metatheatrical role-playing asserts the nature of the play itself as an enactment for the commercial theatre, and places the institution of theatre in relation to the play's subject-matter, the learned scholar. The low social and intellectual status of the actor of More in relation to the role he is playing corresponds with the social and intellectual status of the role of Randall - though the play insists repeatedly that More is himself of humble origin. [p. 78]

Fortunately the historical comments are straightforward and interesting. The four or five authors used various sources on More's life, some favoring More and some despising him. More was still a controversial topic when the play was written (around 1600), with Queen Elizabeth on the throne. More had refused to acknowledge the authority of Henry VIII over the church in England and implicitly his marriage to his second wife (the mother of Elizabeth). The play was reviewed by a censor who made many suggestions and deletions, all of which readers can see in the main text.

The text of the play itself is a critical edition, with extensive footnotes clarifying who wrote what and explaining the meaning of the archaic words and phrases. It requires a little patience to read. I read the play before I read the introduction. I definitely recommend that reading order since the introduction discusses details of events in the play, events I was unfamiliar with from other sources. I would have been somewhat lost in the introduction without reading the play first.

The play is in roughly two halves. The first half deals with More's rise to power in England, eventually becoming Chancellor. The main incident depicted is a near-riot of lower class workers. They want to burn the homes of foreigners in London who have the favor of the king and have been putting natives out of work. More, as a sheriff of London, speaks to the crowd and quells their anger. His service in averting the riot is what brings him political success. [Historically, this incident is almost twenty years before More becomes chancellor and lots of other events and actions contributed to his rise.]

The second half deals with his life in court, his refusal of the Oath of Supremacy (never named or detailed in the play), and his eventual execution. Throughout both halves, his jovial nature, both in personal affairs and as a lawyer/political figure, is demonstrated by many witty little scenes. If A Man for All Seasons is the straight-laced drama of More's life and death, this is much more like a comedy. Not that the play makes fun of More, but it presents his penchant for jests, for being witty in both the smart and the funny senses of the term.

The play is a little uneven in that it moves from episode to episode in More's life without a strong sense of connection between the scenes. Various court room scenes tell us more about More's character but do not point us to his eventual decision and fate. I still found it fascinating reading and would not mind seeing a stage production of this play (which is the proper way to experience a play, after all).

The book also has several appendices with textual analysis of the additions and deletions to the play, a close look at authorship of various parts, and some passages from source materials. I only skimmed through this part since it was very scholarly and not my main interest.

Book Review: Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation By St. Thomas More

Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation by St. Thomas More

After receiving a smart phone for Christmas, I decided to join the Kindle ranks and downloaded the Android Kindle app. Browsing around for free stuff to start with, I check what was available from Thomas More, a favorite author and saint. For the past two Lents I've read his The Sadness of Christ and have found it greatly edifying. Figuring the Dialogue would be similar, I was excited to start reading it in Lent after re-reading his other work.

The book is written as a dialogue where two or more characters discuss issues or ideas. Here, one person (a nephew) asks pretty basic questions and his uncle expostulates at length on those questions. The nephew says, "You are so right, I don't know why I didn't see the point you are making. Here is my follow up question to continue the dialogue:..." Sometimes I'm not in the mood for that style, because the people really aren't characters or persons in their own right, just one mouthpiece and one sounding board. Plato's dialogues sometimes fall into this, but most have actual characters discussing the issue (thus a true dialogue) rather than one person providing his interlocutor "the truth" (really a monologue). The first third of More's book is written in the more monologue style. The delivery provides a lot of content but it comes off a little dry and academic.

After the first third, the discussion becomes a bit more of a discussion and the uncle begins using stories to illustrate his points. The book becomes much more engaging and enjoyable. The final third of the book deals with the hard issues of imprisonment and death, which clearly were on the author's mind as he awaited his own fate in the Tower of London. He was executed in 1535 by King Henry VIII's government on false evidence of treason. The treasonable act would have been denying that the King was the supreme head of the Church in England.

While many parts of the book are very compelling and great reading, a great portion of it is pretty dry. Sometimes the language is a little convoluted, for example: "Forsooth, uncle, this thing yet seemeth to me a somewhat sore sentence, not because I think otherwise but that there is good cause and great wherefore a man should so sorrow, but because of truth sometimes a man cannot be sorry and heavy for his sin that he hath done, though he never so fain would." This particular edition has "modifications to obsolete language by Monica Stevens," modifying the Everyman Library edition of the book. I can't say she did a good job. More refers to an author named "Austine" that I soon realized meant St. Augustine. I'd recommend someone interested in reading this either stick with Everyman or look for another modernizing of the text.