St. Thomas More of London

Vision Books for Young Readers

by Elizabeth Ince

This wonderful book for young readers presents the remarkable life of the great English martyr, St. Thomas More, in an engaging and easy-to-read style. St. Thomas More, the light-hearted but heroic Chancellor of England, comes to life in this biography by Elizabeth M. Ince. Raised in the London of the late 1400's, Thomas was a bright student eager for knowledge. When serving as a page for Cardinal Morton, the Archbishop of Canterbury noticed Thomas' bright wit and sent him to Oxford. There young Thomas became a scholar of great repute, and later one of the greatest lawyers that Englad had ever seen. Going on to serve his King, Thomas More soon became one of Henry VIII's most trusted advisors. But then the unthinkable happened. King Henry VIII defied Rome and set himself up as the head of the Church in England, commanding all of his subjects to acknowledge him as such. Sir Thomas resigned as Chancellor rather than betray his faith, but his defiance came at a price. King Henry soon had him arrested and charged with treason. On July 6, 1535, Sir Thomas More was beheaded for high treason and became a martyr for the Church. "A series which should be found wherever there are young Catholic readers." - Ave Maria "The Vision Books are splendid in design and format." - Catholic Standard Times "The entire series of Vision Books is recommended for solid training for youth." - The Tablet

Genres: Childrens, Catholic, Biography, Religion, Middle Grade

164 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a nice kid-friendly book. Even the sufferings of Sir More are not made in a way that seems unfriendly to a young audience. This book captures a neat little biography that is true at its core with some funny alterations like small stories that may or may not have exactly happened such as some events at Oxford Academy, his childhood ecclesial palace where he was tutored in, the discovery of his horse-hair undergarment, etcetera. If you have a young Catholic who wants to know the lives of the saints and wants an easy-to-read book, then I think this is surely doable. I chuckled when the story mentions both the origin of his book 'Utopia' which adds-on the Erasmus lore and his writings against Martin Luther, as Sir More was also as much as a private theologian while he worked in the Kings Court. His works against Luther post mortem seemed to orthodox and he was a very noble man.

This is one of those books you can gift to a child and encourage them to read. It'll be way better than diary of a wimpy kid.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I read this delightful book together for literature class. The lessons are profound and Sir Thomas is an ideal role model for children and adults alike.

[Aimée Henley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely wonderful biography for children.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with my son for summer reading going into fifth grade. While the spoken language sounded funny (old) to our ears, the author took care to modernize her prose so the story made sense and was easy to follow. As an adult I was impressed with how St Thomas was faithful to his king but God came first. He walked a tightrope for many years and he suffered much in his last years. Although to hear him tell it, he almost enjoyed it. Well, he definitely used the time to prepare and grow stronger in faith. My son and I both admire his courage and kindness.

[Leila Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very impressed with this book. It was well-written, interesting, and historically accurate. Her presentation of Utopia was accurate and very well done. I have just one quibble, and that is that she said Thomas More wanted to start writing Catholic apologetical works after he resigned as chancellor, when in fact he wrote many while he was chancellor.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to a group of 5th graders and we were all very moved. Everyone was absolutely silent and riveted at the end. The kids were visibly impressed. It’s a really well done novel for children.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another read for the 8th grade book club at my parish. Loved learning the details of this saint’s life and death.

[Mariah H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting life.