I Witness: The Firsthand Account of the Trial and Execution of Sir Thomas More

Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in the household of someone famous - perhaps someone who achieved a place in history? What would you see? What would you hear? How would you feel as remarkable events enveloped your daily life?

In the historical novel I Witness, authors Charles W. Ferguson and Dede Weldon Casad, PhD. transport readers back to the 1530’s, the time of Sir Thomas More and his infamous clash with King Henry VIII. The book’s central character is Charles Bosworth, a young naïve Oxford student who unexpectedly finds himself privileged to be a personal servant in the home of Sir Thomas More. Bosworth witnesses and records More’s trial, imprisonment, and ultimate execution by King Henry VIII as the two former friends struggle mightily over the King’s demand the he become the supreme head of the Church of England. More’s refusal to endorse Henry’s plan to divorce Queen Catherine of Aragon and take Anne Boleyn as a new wife sets the stage for the battle of wills between two men convinced their vision for England is right. The most beloved man in all of England as well as one of the most learned scholars of his time, More’s determination to use moral and legal arguments to protect the integrity of the Church against Henry’s personal and lustful demands cost him his family, position, wealth and ultimately, his life. Bosworth’s day by day account chronicles the pain and joy of the last three years of More’s life, one of the most historically unique stories in all of British history.