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Publication Date: 18 Apr 2019
Publisher: SPCK Publishing
Page Count: 128
Author: Melvyn Bragg
ISBN-13: 9780281077137, 9780281077144, 9780281077151

William Tyndale

A Very Brief History
By Melvyn Bragg
Concise historical introduction to William Tyndale and his continuing influence on the world and how we see it.
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'An enjoyably pacey read.' Times Literary Supplement

'Eloquent... brilliant and very moving.' Paul Cartledge, Emeritus Professor of Greek culture, University of Cambridge

'On the morning of 6 October 1536, a frail scholar was taken from a dungeon in the castle at Vilvoorde, just north of Brussels. Armed guards kept the crowds at bay as he was led through the streets of the small town. He was to be burned. The funeral pyre, a wigwam stack of planks surmounted by a cross, was ready. Gunpowder would be thrown on the wood to encourage the flames. He was allowed a few moments of prayer. As a priest, prayer had been the keystone of his faith. After the brief pause, he walked up the steps to be tied to the cross. As he waited for the flames, he called out, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes!'

'This was William Tyndale, the man whose translation of the New Testament and much of the Old Testament was to bring about more profound changes to the English-speaking world over the next five centuries than the works of any other man in its history.'
From Chapter 1: Innocence and genius
Melvyn Bragg is a writer and broadcaster. His novels includeThe Hired Man, for which he won the Time/Life Silver Pen Award, Without a City Wall, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, The Soldier's Return, winner of the W H Smith Literary Award, A Son of War and Crossing the Lines, both of which were longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and most recently Grace and Mary and Now is the Time. He has also written several works of non-fiction, including The Book of Books, In Our Time, The Adventure of English and 12 Books that Changed the World. He lives in London and Cumbria.

William Tyndale is the only writer in the English language more influential than William Shakespeare. Melvyn Bragg, with his unique view of the broad sweep of social and cultural history, understands this in all its many dimensions. He succinctly lays out the details of Tyndale’s life, achievements and legacy, and vividly shows us the man’s genius, his passion and his “heroic innocence” in the face of Henry VIII’s tyranny. Thus he humanizes the story of the English and their Bible. In short, it is one of the greatest stories of individual sacrifice for the greater good in the history of the world.

- Dr Ian Mortimer FSA, FRHistS, historian and writer

It’s is a terrific read, and really hits the spot – everything the non-specialist needs to know in a readily accessible format.

- John Guy

Eloquent…brilliant and very moving.

- Paul Cartledge, Emeritus Professor of Greek culture, University of Cambridge

An enjoyably pacey read.

- Times Literary Supplement

Bragg has established himself over the past decades as a fearlessly dedicated, popular educator.

- The Sunday Times

Our most trusted intellectual interpreter.

- Evening Standard
About
'An enjoyably pacey read.' Times Literary Supplement

'Eloquent... brilliant and very moving.' Paul Cartledge, Emeritus Professor of Greek culture, University of Cambridge

'On the morning of 6 October 1536, a frail scholar was taken from a dungeon in the castle at Vilvoorde, just north of Brussels. Armed guards kept the crowds at bay as he was led through the streets of the small town. He was to be burned. The funeral pyre, a wigwam stack of planks surmounted by a cross, was ready. Gunpowder would be thrown on the wood to encourage the flames. He was allowed a few moments of prayer. As a priest, prayer had been the keystone of his faith. After the brief pause, he walked up the steps to be tied to the cross. As he waited for the flames, he called out, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes!'

'This was William Tyndale, the man whose translation of the New Testament and much of the Old Testament was to bring about more profound changes to the English-speaking world over the next five centuries than the works of any other man in its history.'
From Chapter 1: Innocence and genius
Author
Melvyn Bragg is a writer and broadcaster. His novels includeThe Hired Man, for which he won the Time/Life Silver Pen Award, Without a City Wall, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, The Soldier's Return, winner of the W H Smith Literary Award, A Son of War and Crossing the Lines, both of which were longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and most recently Grace and Mary and Now is the Time. He has also written several works of non-fiction, including The Book of Books, In Our Time, The Adventure of English and 12 Books that Changed the World. He lives in London and Cumbria.
Reviews

William Tyndale is the only writer in the English language more influential than William Shakespeare. Melvyn Bragg, with his unique view of the broad sweep of social and cultural history, understands this in all its many dimensions. He succinctly lays out the details of Tyndale’s life, achievements and legacy, and vividly shows us the man’s genius, his passion and his “heroic innocence” in the face of Henry VIII’s tyranny. Thus he humanizes the story of the English and their Bible. In short, it is one of the greatest stories of individual sacrifice for the greater good in the history of the world.

- Dr Ian Mortimer FSA, FRHistS, historian and writer

It’s is a terrific read, and really hits the spot – everything the non-specialist needs to know in a readily accessible format.

- John Guy

Eloquent…brilliant and very moving.

- Paul Cartledge, Emeritus Professor of Greek culture, University of Cambridge

An enjoyably pacey read.

- Times Literary Supplement

Bragg has established himself over the past decades as a fearlessly dedicated, popular educator.

- The Sunday Times

Our most trusted intellectual interpreter.

- Evening Standard

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