“Achieve[s] that increasingly rare balance between expertise and style. This book beautifully captures both the life of a fascinating man and the fading world that he died trying to preserve. More’s life had the arc of a Shakespearean tragedy. Ms. Paul skillfully conveys the stakes of More’s struggle [and] narrates the story’s denouement in riveting detail. Ms. Paul’s portrait is sympathetic, but not hagiographic. Her book is a subtle effort to explore the great paradox of Thomas More. The martyr to conscience is easily dismissed as a fool or a scoundrel. More, in Ms. Paul’s wonderful account, is neither of these.”

– Jeffrey Collins, The Wall Street Journal

“A magisterial new biography."

– Smithsonian Magazine

"Considerable literary craftsmanship is shown in weaving his life through the period."

– Times Literary Supplement

“An engaging, readable, often fast-paced narrative. Along the way we encounter More as one of the leading humanist scholars of his age, the head of a loving and pious family, a diligent administrator and a servant of his fellow London citizens and the Crown.”

– The Tablet

"‘A rich, immersive and clear-sighted exploration of this most contested of Tudor lives. Joanne Paul vividly reconstructs the late medieval world that formed Thomas More and which, as that world started to split apart, he fought courageously and vainly to save. In stripping away the accretions of historical reputation-making, shereveals More as a figure of his age, in all his complex and contradictory humanity.”

– Thomas Penn, author of Winter King

"A figure as complex as Thomas More is no easy subject, yet Joanne Paul’s account of his life is nothing short of spectacular. Impeccably researched and intelligently written, Paul handles More's story with the perfect combination of scholarship and verve. With Paul's truly extraordinary flair for storytelling, this is going to be the definitive biography of Thomas More for decades to come.”

– Nicola Tallis, author of Young Elizabeth

“Fans of Wolf Hall and ‘A Man for All Seasons’ will find much to enjoy in this immersive, richly told account of life, death, faith and politics at the early Tudor court.” 

– The Spectator

“To show us More as other than saint or villain, her new, hugely readable biography immerses us in More’s busy, messy, and changing world. Paul is brilliant at bringing the swirl of Catholic England to life. Paul’s engrossing biography more than shows More and his world are compelling, strange, and dark.”

– The Times (London)

“Joanne Paul has created a portrait of Thomas More that is epic, intimate and profoundly relatable to the modern reader. In Paul’s hands he is neither overly good nor bad; he just is. We are in a new age of tyrants—Thomas More shows the necessity of speaking truth to power at all costs.” 

– Leah Redmond Chang, Women’s Prize longlisted historian of Young Queens

"THE definitive biography of one of history’s most complex and often inscrutable characters.”

– Nathen Amin, author of Son of Prophesy: The Rise of Henry Tudor

"A work of proper scholarly history as well as a wonderful narrative read. More is so often seen as either a saint, i.e. ‘The Man For All Seasons’ or the misogynistic bigot we see in Wolf Hall. In this superb biography, Joanne Paul goes back to the words More wrote himself, to try and get at More before fame and the accusations against him took hold. I so enjoyed the result.”

– Susannah Lipscomb, author of A Journey Through Tudor England

"Very impressive.”

– Alison Weir, New York Times bestselling author

“An exceptionally well-researched biography, situating its subject in his rightful place at the heart of the turmoil of the early sixteenth century. Rather than simply a statesman-turned-victim of Henry VIII, Paul gives us a movingly human picture of a family man, scholar, politician and, ultimately, political martyr. As compelling as a novel, the story of More's rise and fall is vividly told.”

– Elizabeth Norton, author of The Hidden Lives of Tudor Woman

Praise for The House of Dudley:
 

“Visceral and illuminating. Paul has produced a painstakingly detailed first book with spirit and verve. Her style is cinematic.”

– The Wall Street Journal

"[Paul's] descriptions themselves are superbly textured. Much of the book reads almost as if Paul had followed More around with a video camera, deftly recording (with all the sights, sounds, even smells) the events, discussions, and disputes through which his life unfolded."

– Law & Liberty

“An enthralling read told with great verve and an eye for the telling detail.”

– The Literary Review

“Exciting and immersive. An immensely entertaining history, capturing in full Tudor brilliance the cut-throat glamour of the English throne and the most audacious family to play its game.”

– The Sunday Times (London)

“Breathes new life into an old and familiar Tudor story. It's delightful, a joy to read.”

– The Times (London)

“This is riveting stuff: death, desire, power and scandal. Game of Thrones looks tame compared with the real-life machinations of the Dudleys."

– The Spectator

“Rich and compelling. Conjures up the look and feel of Tudor life. You will find yourself drawn in, fascinated, and richly informed.”

– The Daily Telegraph

“A full-blooded affair, as good on the horrors of war as it is on the soft power of the Dudley women, and written in a lively, episodic style that presents each Dudley as a foil to the monarch they served.”

– Jessie Childs, author of God's Traitors and The Siege of Loyalty House

"The crowning jewel in its genre. I can't recommend this book enough. Unputdownable."

– Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Facemaker and The Butchering Art

“When reading Joanne Paul's lively history of the house of Dudley, it is impossible not to be reminded of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy.”

– The Mail on Sunday