Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
From a prize-winning author, this book charts the course of Christianity from ancient history onwards.
Tomas Cranmer, the architect of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, was the Archbishop of Canterbury who guided England through the early Reformation--and Henry VIII through the minefields of divorce. Now with a new Introduction, this revised edition of [the author's] monumental, definitive and prize-winning biography transforms our view of Cranmer and of the English Reformation as a whole.
Exploring the origins of the Hebrew Bible, this work delves into the global impact of Christianity, highlighting significant historical turning points. It sheds light on often overlooked narratives of conversion and conflict across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, showcasing the diverse experiences and transformations within the faith. The scholarship is both electrifying and skillfully presented, offering a comprehensive view of Christianity's journey through history.
MacCulloch not only brings a lifetime's learning to bear on his subject, but writes with vigour, empathy and wit ... about identity and memory, about the importance of myths and why historians need to challenge them. Malcolm Gaskill Financial Times
A SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, SPECTATOR, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, BBC HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 'This is the biography we have been awaiting for 400 years' Hilary Mantel 'A masterpiece' Dan Jones, Sunday Times Thomas Cromwell is one of the most famous - or notorious - figures in English history. Born in obscurity in Putney, he became a fixer for Cardinal Wolsey in the 1520s. After Wolsey's fall, Henry VIII promoted him to a series of ever greater offices, and by the end of the 1530s he was effectively running the country for the King. That decade was one of the most momentous in English history: it saw a religious break with the Pope, unprecedented use of parliament, the dissolution of all monasteries. Cromwell was central to all this, but establishing his role with precision, at a distance of nearly five centuries and after the destruction of many of his papers at his own fall, has been notoriously difficult. Diarmaid MacCulloch's biography is much the most complete and persuasive life ever written of this elusive figure, a masterclass in historical detective work, making connections not previously seen. It overturns many received interpretations, for example that Cromwell was a cynical, 'secular' politician without deep-felt religious commitment, or that he and Anne Boleyn were allies because of their common religious sympathies - in fact he destroyed her. It introduces the many different personalities of these foundational years, all conscious of the 'terrifyingly unpredictable' Henry VIII. MacCulloch allows readers to feel that they are immersed in all this, that it is going on around them. For a time, the self- made 'ruffian' (as he described himself) - ruthless, adept in the exercise of power, quietly determined in religious revolution - was master of events. MacCulloch's biography for the first time reveals his true place in the making of modern England and Ireland, for good and ill.
The Reformation was the seismic event in European history over the past 1000 years, and one which tore the medieval world apart. Not just European religion, but thought, culture, society, state systems, personal relations - everything - was turned upside down. Just about everything which followed in European history can be traced back in some way to the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation which it provoked. The Reformation is where the modern world painfully and dramatically began, and MacCulloch's great history of it is recognised as the best modern account.
Focusing on one of history's most significant upheavals, the book provides an in-depth exploration of the Reformation, detailing its profound impact on society, religion, and politics. Winner of the 2004 Wolfson Prize for History, it combines scholarly research with engaging narrative, making it accessible to both academic and general readers. Accompanied by a 24-page photo insert, it visually enriches the historical context, enhancing the reader's understanding of this transformative period.
The English Reformation was the event which chiefly shaped English identity well into the twentieth century. He provides a narrative of events, then discusses the ideas which shaped the English Reformation, and surveys the ways in which the English reacted to it, how far and quickly they accepted it and assesses those who remained dissenters. schovat popis
Edward VI died a teenager in 1553, yet his brief reign would shape the future of the nation, unleashing a Protestant revolution that propelled England into the heart of the Reformation. This dramatic account takes a fresh look at one of the most significant and turbulent periods in English history. 'A challenging, elegant and persuasive biography of an unjustly neglected king' Jerry Brotton, author of This Orient Isle 'MacCulloch puts the young Edward at the centre of the action ... as this excellent and lively study shows, his ghost continues to haunt the history of Anglicanism' Sunday Times 'This is Reformation history as it should be written, not least because it resembles its subject matter: learned, argumentative, and, even when mistaken, never dull' Eamon Duffy, author of The Stripping of the Altars 'One of the best historians writing in English today' Sunday Telegraph