Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation

What with the challenge of bringing together primary source material that spans centuries of European religious thought, exegesis, and history, this is most impressive volume by a gifted writer and thoughtful scholar. The Reformation has been the subject of many works but Prof. Marshall's style, insight, and use of detailed sources provides the reader with a new look at how the Anglican Church evolved and how English society underwent profound change during the sixteenth century. With a command of the topic that is first-rate, the reader is provided with facts and thematic analysis that make for a great read and show the role religion played in the lives of the commoners, the priesthood, and the crown. Prof. Marshall's knowledge of Latin, Greek, and German text shows through. The book is a fine contribution to the area for any historian.

This is an exciting contribution to the renewed interest in the origins of the English Reformation. Marshall joins the ranks of Diarmaid MacCulloch as an accessible, friendly and often witty contributor to the rich debate on this important subject. Highly recommended.

Quite some revisionism of the Reformation years!

Very well researched. A thorough, in-depth and excellent read of a fascinating period of English history.

the Quin-centennial is producing some great history on the Reformation...or Reformations.

Excellent and incisive presentation of the wide range of factors at work, and in opposition to each other, during the English reformation.

Good discussion on the subject.

This book is already longer than the Bible, and could have been 2 or three times more lengthy and never varied from its theme of the reformation in England. But efforts such as this, which attempt to be exhaustive histories and commentaries, always let the reader down. The publisher should have insisted on at least 2 volumes, each with a less broad focus.Because I am so interested in the topic, I ended up buying the Kindle version as well as the hard copy. This enabled me to escape the tiny type used on its 672 pages; referring to the printed version only when I found the need to refer back to something earlier in this very ponderous tome (for all their benefits--and I love my Kindle reader for novels, etc.--E-readers generally are unworkable for what is essentially a reference or text book).This should not be the first book anyone reads on the English reformation, but for many of us, it likely will be the last.