Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet - Softcover

Roper, Lyndal

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784703443 ISBN 13: 9781784703448

Publisher: Vintage, 2017

Synopsis

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2017 SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE 2017'A magnificent study of one of history's most compelling and divisive figures' Richard J. EvansWhen Martin Luther nailed a sheet of paper to the church door of a small university town in 1517, he set off a process that changed the Western world for ever. Within a few years Luther's ideas had spread like wildfire., His attempts to reform Christianity by returning it to its biblical roots split the Western Church, divided Europe and polarised people's beliefs, leading to religious persecution, social unrest and war; and in the long run his ideas would help break the grip of religion on every sphere of life. Yet Luther was a deeply flawed human being: a fervent believer tormented by spiritual doubts; a prolific writer whose translation of the Bible would shape the German language yet whose attacks on his opponents were vicious and foul-mouthed; a married ex-monk who liberated human sexuality from the stigma of sin but who insisted that women should know their place; a religious fundamentalist, Jew-hater and political reactionary who called `for the private and public murder of the peasants' who had risen against their lords in response to his teaching. And perhaps surprisingly, the man who helped create in the modern world was not modern himself: for him the devil was not a figure of speech but a real, physical presence., As an acclaimed historian, Lyndal Roper explains how Luther's impact can only be understood against the background of the times. As a brilliant biographer, she gives us the flesh-and-blood figure. She reveals the often contradictory psychological forces that drove Luther forward and the dynamics they unleashed, which turned a small act of protest into a battle against the power of the Church., A New Statesman, Spectator, History Today, Guardian and Sunday Times Book of the Year

About this title

Review

"This is a smart, accessible, authoritative biography of one of the most dynamic figures in European history. Lyndal Roper writes with clarity and discernment, so that nothing stands between the reader and her grimly fascinating subject; she earths the reformer, situating him psychically as well as geographically in a Germany she describes as vividly as if we lived there: mining towns as well as lecture halls, courts as well as cathedrals. She creates a context for a man who arouses both admiration and horror in the modern reader. Here he stands: never more vocal, more controversial, more compelling" (Hilary Mantel)

"A fine achievement, deeply researched and fluently written, and it brings its difficult and cantankerous subject to life as no other biography has... A magnificent study of one of history’s most compelling and divisive figures" (Richard J. Evans)

"Impeccable scholarship and painstaking fair-mindedness characterize his deeply illuminating biography. Roper has mined the correspondence, and Luther’s charisma and complexity shine through the letters" (Andrew Pettegree New York Times)

"Lyndal Roper's new book is a compelling and provocative attempt to restore some flesh and blood to this static icon...the work of one of the most imaginative and pioneering historians of our generation" (Alexandrda Walsham Guardian)

"Lyndal Roper provides a fine scholarly narrative of Luther’s extraordinary life...She paints the picture of a “difficult hero”, with full attention to both light and shadow. A compellingly readable and richly documented study" (Rowan Williams)

"Excellent and wholly absorbing biography... Roper’s biography, distinguished by the excellence of its writing and research, is the beginning of wisdom in all things Reformation, anti-Roman and, alas, proto-Hitlerite." (Ian Thomson Guardian)

"[Martin Luther is] exemplary history: imaginative yet empirical, rounded and profound." (Malcolm Gaskill Financial Times)

"Roper’s immaculate scholarship...gives a complex account of his inner life, without ever straying beyond what the evidence will allow." (Kathryn Hughes Guardian, Book of the Year)

"[It] deploys its considerable learning with the lightest of touches: a seductive, shimmering and significant retelling of a man whose rise to power was...as unlikely as it was extraordinary" (Thomas Penn Guardian, Book of the Year)

"An impressive and fascinating read." (David Crane Spectator, Book of the Year)

Book Description

The first historical biography, for many decades, of Martin Luther (1483-1546), the rebellious monk who ushered in the modern world

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1784703443
• ISBN 13: 9781784703448
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 592