A review by quodfelix
Thomas Cranmer by Diarmaid MacCulloch

2.0

I was rather looking forward to this biography, having enjoyed MacCulloch's History of Christianity for its wry observations and willingness to tell a good story. But it seemed to me that he assumed too much foreknowledge here, and I got lost in the host of characters and the obscure references became tedious instead. I may have wound up skimming through some of these pages and chose to dwell instead on the parts I understood something more about. I learned some more about Cranmer's wider interests in reform, and I gained a deeper appreciation for the significance of the Book of Common Prayer, not only to the practice of religion, but also to language and the depth of its impact on British identity. For that I am grateful. But it was a chore to get through.