Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation

"I don’t blame you for asking that question, because we think we know it all, don’t we? And I suppose, in a sense, we all have our views about the Reformation. This is a book that I regard as excellent in terms of both scholarship and readability. It’s deep, it’s got gravitas, and yet it’s written in a very pleasing and lively style. In particular, Marshall talks about Henry VIII and the scale of social disruption he caused, when changing England from a Catholic to a Protestant country. Marshall’s book tells the familiar story again, but he talks not just about religion changing but also about how ordinary people felt and what their involvement was. It’s much more about people, as well as doctrine. So, the Reformation isn’t just an affair of state. The population of England suffered greatly. He emphasises this point. It was a bloody process. 10,000 men died in 1549. Marshall points out that that was a huge proportion of the English population at the time. He argues convincingly that the Reformation was not just religious—though of course that was the theme that was trumpeted at the time—but it also involved a nation deeply divided and, as a result of different views of religion, radicalised. You’re absolutely right. It’s well worth the reading. It’s as I said, very, very nicely written, and he’s a master of the material, definitely. And anything to do with Henry VIII, we love, don’t we? Oh, but he was so clever, intellectually. At least, this is the profile that he is given in history books. It’s not my field, so I’d better shut up!"