Thomas More's Utopia

In 1516, the publication of one small book would coin a new word and give rise to centuries of literature, theory, and thought. In his most influential work, the lawyer and Tudor politician Thomas More (1478-1535) described a seemingly perfect – but entirely fictional – island called Utopia. In 1535, less than two decades after writing the book, More was executed for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as supreme head of the church of England. Misha Glenny and his guests discuss why More’s exploration of service and the ideal state has been read as a blueprint for society, a scathing satire, and as a timeless warning. This In Our Time episode examines the 16th-century origin and legacy of one of most influential works of political philosophy. The discussion explores Utopia’s roots in Renaissance Humanism, what the book has to say about tyranny and governance, and why utopias can so often seem dystopian.

With

Laura Ashe
Professor of English Literature at Worcester College, University of Oxford

Cathy Shrank
Professor of Tudor and Renaissance Literature at the University of Sheffield

And

Joanne Paul
Honorary Associate Professor in Intellectual History at the University of Sussex

Producer: Martha Owen

Reading list:

Terence Cave (ed.), Thomas More’s ‘Utopia’ in Early Modern Europe: Paratexts and Contexts (Manchester University Press, 2008)

J. H. Hexter, More’s Utopia: The Biography of an Idea (Princeton University Press, 1952)

Richard Marius, Thomas More: A Biography (Harvard University Press, 1999)

Thomas More (ed. Joanne Paul), Utopia (Oxford University Press, 2025)

Thomas More (ed. George M. Logan), Utopia (Cambridge University Press, 2016)

Thomas More (ed. Gerard B. Wegemer and Stephen W. Smith), The Essential Works of Thomas More (Yale University Press, 2020)

Joanne Paul, Thomas More: A Life and Death in Tudor England (Michael Joseph, 2025)

Joanne Paul, Thomas More: Classic Thinkers (Polity, 2016)

Howard P. Segal, Utopias: A Brief History from Ancient Writings to Virtual Communities (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012)

Cathy Shrank and Phil Withington (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Thomas More's Utopia (Oxford University Press, 2023)

Quentin Skinner, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought, vol. 1: The Renaissance (Cambridge University Press, 1979)

In Our Time is a BBC Studios production

A world-class seminar every week. Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time celebrates the pursuit of knowledge and the enduring power of ideas. In each episode, host Misha Glenny and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.