For All Seasons: Selected Letters of Thomas More

Edited by Stephen Smith 
Foreword by Gerard Wegemer 

For the first time in forty years, the selected letters of St. Thomas More— son, husband, father, friend, statesman and martyr— are now available in this newly edited volume for the contemporary reader. Moving from the days of his youth to the startling drama of his final years, this collection serves as a “ life in letters” and offers the reader fresh insight into More’ s education, formation, and character, visible both in season and out of season, in little matters as well as great controversies.

The first English writer to use the word “ integrity,” More struggled to live as well as he wrote, with personal virtue, solid piety, and a well-formed conscience. These letters reflect all the facets of his humanity and personality, and through them, one may begin to glimpse the living face of this famous “ man for all seasons,” as he was known even in his own time.

In addition to the letters from Thomas More, the book offers introductory notes on the family members, friends, and other historical figures relevant to his life’ s history.   

St. Thomas  More was an English lawyer,  social philosopher, author,  statesman, and noted  Renaissance humanist. He was a Councillor to  Henry VIII, and  Lord High Chancellor of England  from October 1529 to May 1532. He is known for his 1516 book  Utopia  and for his death in 1535, after refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. He was canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint in 1935.    More opposed the  Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of  Martin Luther  and  William Tyndale. More also opposed the king's separation from the  Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as  Supreme Head of the Church of England  and the annulment of his marriage to  Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the  Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of  treason  and beheaded. Of his execution, he was reported to have said: "I die the King's good servant, and God's first."Pope Pius XI  canonized More in 1935 as a  martyr.  Pope John Paul II  in 2000 declared him the "heavenly  Patron  of Statesmen and Politicians."