A Daughter's Love

"This is an exceptional double biography, written by one of the foremost experts on Tudor England. Thomas More, of course, was executed in 1535 for refusing to acknowledge the validity of Henry VIII’s break from Rome and his supremacy over the Church. Guy combines brilliant interpretation of primary sources with absorbing narrative to paint More’s relationship with Margaret and in so doing places Margaret right at the centre of More’s life. As More wrestled with his spiritual doubts in the 1530s he was deserted by most of his relatives. But Margaret stays faithful to him. The book also shows Thomas More’s encouragement of his daughter’s considerable intellect. He did teach her – and she was in many respects his best student. This is a terrific portrait of a woman growing up in a man’s world, carving out her own identity within it. In a very radical move, she publishes her own book – a translation of Erasmus’s meditations on the Lord’s Prayer. Guy makes the point that very few women had dared to go into print in this way before."