The Life of Thomas More was published by Chatto & Windus in 1998. Ackroyd’s biography presented Thomas More as a figure of irreducible contradiction: the author of Utopia who persecuted heretics; the devoted family man who wore a hair shirt beneath his Lord Chancellor’s robes; the brilliant wit who chose death rather than acknowledge Henry VIII’s supremacy over the Church.
Ackroyd was particularly strong on the physical and sensory world of More’s London — the smells, the sounds, the daily routines of life in the early sixteenth century.
Collecting The Life of Thomas More
First edition (Chatto & Windus, London, 1998): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- UK first edition, fine in jacket: $25–$60
- US first edition (Nan A. Talese): $10–$25
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
The Saint and the City
Ackroyd’s biography of Thomas More (1478–1535) emphasises More as a Londoner — born in Milk Street, educated at the Inns of Court, Lord Chancellor of England, and executed at the Tower of London. More’s life allows Ackroyd to explore early modern London, the English Reformation, and the conflict between conscience and power. Ackroyd, a Catholic, is sympathetic to More’s martyrdom but does not shy from the darker aspects of his character, including his enthusiasm for burning heretics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ackroyd religious? Yes. Ackroyd is a Roman Catholic, and his faith informs his work in ways both explicit (the biography of More, the emphasis on churches in Hawksmoor) and implicit (his sense of the numinous quality of places, his belief that the past persists in the present).