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The Life of Thomas More, by Peter Ackroyd (Doubleday, 447 pp., $30)

ERASMUS addressed him as mellitissime Thoma and famously proclaimed that his sweetest Thomas was omnium horarum—a man for all seasons, whose affability remained constant through fair weather and foul. It’s true that Thomas More joked even on the scaffold, but Erasmus, who liked puns and double meanings, may also have alluded to the many people who had no idea what made him tick.

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Florence King

Florence King was a contributing editor of National Review.

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The Life of Thomas More, by Peter Ackroyd (Doubleday, 447 pp., $30)

ERASMUS addressed him as mellitissime Thoma and famously proclaimed that his sweetest Thomas was omnium horarum—a man for all seasons, whose affability remained constant through fair weather and foul. It’s true that Thomas More joked even on the scaffold, but Erasmus, who liked puns and double meanings, may also have alluded to the many people who had no idea what made him tick.