Book Description

A unique new series of books that will transport the reader to different eras of London’s history. You will experience the sights (some pretty, most ugly), the smells (some fragrant, most offensive) and lives (some successful, most tragic) of its inhabitants through the ages. All contain quizzes and other interactive features, plus listings of relevant places to visit and things to do, and will prove both highly entertaining for their readers and invaluable for schools. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A simple, introductory juvenile biography of Joan of Arc
With the surprising of success of television's "Joan of Arcadia," a lot of young viewers will pick up on the idea that the show is Barbara Hall's updated version of the story of Joan of Arc, and this is one of the books that they will probably find in their school library. "Joan of Arc: The Lily Maid" by Margaret Hodges is a fairly simple biography of the 15th-century peasant girl who led the French army to victory against the English, succeeded in getting Charles VII crowned king of France, was burned at the stake for witchcraft, and later named a saint. The Author's Note at the end of the book on "Joan and the Hundred Years War" provides a bit more details on her life, but the text certainly covers the basic story without frills, so this volume is going to be most appropriate as an introduction to the story of Jeanne d'Arc. The illustrations are by Robert Rayevsky, who was inspired by the medieval setting of the story to use the printmaking techniques of dry point and etching for the art, which nicely compliments the simple text.

A Story of Bravery
This book was about the brave life of a french peasant Joan d'(of) Arc. The story explains how the voices of god (angels and saints) told her that she was the one who needed to save France. Knowing that the king of France would not take a women seriously much less a peasant Joan cleverly disguised herself as a male and goes to confront the king. Impressed with Joan he gave her an army and a horse and told her to defend her country against England. Joan bravely led her troops in the name of god and his messenger. Soon after her charge on the English Joan was captured and put on trial for her charades and was sentenced to death by burning on the stakes. No one took this women seriously, much less believe that she had been chosen by god to fight for his message. After her death Joan was deemed a saint and forever known as the brave Saint Joan d' Arc.
I like the authors way of simply telling the story. The pictures in the book vividly displayed emotion and showed the trial wonderfully. Depicting the judges anger, the juries humor and Joan's undying passion and courage. The author shared with the readers the courage Joan had. Inviting the readers to fight for what they believe in and never give up on their values no matter what. A wonderful story of bravery and courage.

Illustrations that beautifully bring the story home!
I was impressed with the look of this book as much as with the content. Both the author and the illustrator have created a lovely retelling of the story of Joan! And when my, then 6 year old, daughter brought it home from her school library, I could see her spark of interest in St. Joan coming to life. One year later, she brought up the notion of finding this book again. She hadn't seen it since the one time she had checked it out at school, last year. That is what convinced me to purchase it for our home library. It trully is a book you'll want to read and look at over and over! ... Read more

Book Description

From the rise of the Roman Empire to Italy's rebirth after WWII, the long history of the Italian people is highlighted in the pages of this new book. Captivating photos help show the daily life of the modern Italian family, their customs, food, fashion, and leisure activities. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The scope of this delightful book encompasses history, painting, 16th-century construction techniques, the conditions of workers, and the biblical story of the Tower of Babel--designed to reach up to heaven but doomed to chaos. Pieter Bruegel painted two colorful, intricate, and mesmerizing versions of the tower (this book shows both but focuses on just one in depth) and set them in his seaside hometown of Antwerp, Belgium. Subtitled The Builder with the Red Hat, this picture book circles in on a close-up of a tiny image--a man gesturing toward a building stone--and spins a tale about the construction site as if this tiny fellow were telling the story. It's a charming device, and the text is written with great sensitivity to a child's interests and listening ability. The style is conversational: "We should take a closer look"; "Let us ask the man wearing the red cap and the apron"; "I'm sure you can imagine how heavy the stone is that the worker is carrying on his back down the hill. Let's follow him...." The language in the book is not overly simplified; "devices," "incorporated," or "extravaganza" would need explanation. But even for a 2- or 3-year-old, there are many pleasures to be had just from gazing into the pictures. This is just one title in a promising new series from Prestel called Adventures in Art. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (1)

My 1st Graders loved it!
I can't say this about many art history books: most of them are either dopey and cute or way over their heads. They loved this one, and so did I! I has lots of interesting details about Bruegel and his time. Lots of good reproductions. The man in the red hat hook works pretty well. I read it to them, but they've been re-reading it to themselves for the past few weeks. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Book Description

Packed with detailed illustrations, side by side with amusing figures, each book in the All in a Day's Work series will engage young readers like never before. Readers will gain insight into ancient cultures through the eyes of the people who lived and worked in them - a dozen professionals from each culture, ranging from civic leaders, emperors, and pharaohs, to boatmen, soldiers, soothsayers, and charioteers. Each book is meticulously researched with all drawings checked for historical accuracy - thus ensuring that these truly unique books are as educational as they are entertaining.

An insider's look at the jobs people did in Ancient Rome from emperor to slave with imaginary and actual, famous examples interspersed. The book describes the conditions, training, pay, and prospects for each job.

You might be unlucky to be born a slave and life may be short if you are trained as a gladiator.

Reviews (1)

Terrific!!
This is by far the best book about Roman gladiators on the market for young readers. Nardo, the leading historian of ancient Rome in juvenile publishing, has done a remarable job explaining all known aspects of the fighters who fought and died in Roman arenas like the Colosseum.He begins with a thorough, up-to-date explanation of the origins of gladiators, pointing out that scholars now think they evolved from Roman, rather than Etruscan, funeral rituals.Then he covers recruitment, training, gladiator types, weapons, preparations for fighting, and the actual fighting (in marvelous detail). Especially valuable and riveting is a chapter on the rebellion of the gladiator Spartacus, with many details never included in other books for young people, and another chapter devoted entirely to the psychological and moral aspects of gladiators within the context of Roman society and the Roman world view.Most of the pictures are good too and the many maps in the Spartacus chapter are very helpful. In addition, Nardo includes numerous quotes by ancient authors about gladiators and an excellent bibliography. I highly recommend the book to all. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Buried one foot below the surface of a field called Thistley Green inthe English town of Mildenhall, a most fantastic Roman treasure lay forcenturies until a ploughman came along in the 1940s and accidentally dug it up.What followed was the worst kind of tragedy, because it involves human greed andabuse of a good man's innocence. Gordon Butcher, discoverer of this treasure,was entitled by British law to the full amount of its market value. Butcher wasnot aware of this law; however, another ploughman named Ford did know about it,and managed to bamboozle Butcher out of the fortune.

This remarkable story was written in 1946 by a young Roald Dahl, who went on towrite such beloved classics as James and the Giant Peach andCharlie and the ChocolateFactory. Dahl's inimitable style blazes through even in his earlycareer. The true story, republished with stunning art by Ralph Steadman, is asriveting as if it had happened today, with heartbreaking notes of unbearableunfairness and sincere naiveté. Each page, thickly covered with rich,dark splashes of paint, sketchy faces, and bits of collage, has a wild andominous tenor, reflected in the ferocious weather that fateful day when thehapless farmer found--and lost--the greatest treasure ever found in the BritishIsles. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The BEST book in the world!
I've read this book snd LOVED it. It's about a worker on a rich mans farm who finds something hard in the ground and it turns out to be TREASER! The man forgets about it after digging it up and a year later his boss (the man who kept the treaser) was cought by one of his freinds. The man who found it becomes rich and is poor no more.
This true story can show that any ordinary person can find a treaser.

Roald Dahl met and interviewed the finder of the treasure
One might argue that this book about the greatest treasure ever found in the British Isles is itself a rare find. Roald Dahl was able to interview Gordon Butcher, the man who originally found the Roman silver on his land, no small feat since Butcher had become suspicious of writers and journalists after being cheated out of a fortune that should have been his. The account, mostly in Butcher's own words, of the discovery is absolutely entrancing and Dahl has the wisdom to keep the story tight and lean, while preserving the details about Butcher and that memorable day when his life changed forever.
I have had a hard time finding true historical accounts which I can share with my entire family and which will hold the interest of both children and adults. With pictures on nearly every page (by the inimitable Ralph Steadman) and vivid writing which makes history come alive, this one fits the bill.

Mildenhall
The easy reading style of Dahl is at its best in the Mildenhall treasure, when fast development mixed with a human element are concerned. He allows the user to empathise with characters and feel the disapointment not only of the good but also those of more dubious character. He gives an insight into peoples lives which should not be possible in such a short space. A very good read, to see the darker side of human character and the way in which naivity is often ruthlessly exploited, however despite this the book is kept light and readable with vivid images and interesting content, a worthwhile read. ... Read more

Book Description

Take a deep breath and step back into the world of Tudor Odours. Visit the stinking streets, riddled with rats and plague, or the perfumed country houses of the very rich. Take to the seas with the sailors, whether fighting the Armada or adventuring with the great explorers, or drop in on the revolting royals. It all adds up to a uniquely realistic portrait of a very smelly age. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Smelly Old History
All of Mary Dobson's "Smelly Old History" books are an excellent way for elementary students to learn history and take whiffs of the many foul smells along history's timeline.The kids get so excited to smell the next foul smell they forget they are learning historical facts as they go. My first grade boy loves the books, but loves scratching the smells best. Some of the facts are a bit beyond 1st grade and younger, but they will still love the books. Ideal for 3rd-5th graders, who have some knowledge of ancient history and can remember names of people and important events in history. Excellent and fun choice for any elementary age student as a gift or for school.

Smells like Tudor spirit
If you've got a "nose for news", (like we do at the TudorTimes), then this is for you. I do actually own a copy, but, it's stillsafe in the clear plastic wrapper. "Stinking Streets, riddled withrats and plague"... "Sailors on the high seas"..."RevoltingRoyals", and more. Just reading the back cover sends me straight to aclove studded orange. Part of the "Smelly Old History" series:"Roman Aromas" and "Victorian Vapours". Good for agiggle. ... Read more

Book Description

Imagine that you are living in medieval Europe. Knights are among the top 5% of the population in status and wealth-that is what you want to be! Do you come from the top rank of society? Do you know the duties a knight is expected to perform, and the skills that are needed? The reader will learn exactly what the requirements for being a knight are. Knights generally left home at age 8 and were in training until they were 21. Gradually advancing from a page or a groom, knights-in-training became squires between the ages of 14 and 21. You will need to practice swordsmanship and horse-riding skills. You must have your own war-horse, weapons, and armor.You will go on long campaigns, perhaps even a Crusade. You'll be away from home for long periods of time-maybe even years. Other times you may be barricaded inside your lord's castle during a siege.For entertainment knights do what they do best-fight! But during tournaments the only battles are fake ones, meant to show which knights are the strongest and most clever. What else will you do while you are not at war?You will run your estate, give feasts followed by dancing, oversee the village court, and help the needy. And you will use your best manners to impress the ladies of the court. Perhaps you will sing, play an instrument, or recite poetry! What will your future be like? Who will take care of you if you are injured, or sick? What will happen when you die? All of your questions will be answered to prepare you for the job interview section at the end of the book-a clever way to test if you are ready to become a medieval knight! ... Read more

Book Description

Travel back in time to the year 1655, when real live sorcerers read the future in crystal balls, when villagers cast spells on their neighbors, and when real live boys studied to become wizards! You'll meet 12-year-old Isaac Newton, a schoolboy determined to master the hidden powers that make this world work. Join him on his exciting quest through the last great age of magic when wizardry was real and scientific revolution was just around the corner. Newton's illustrated path from sorcery to science will make readers question the cultural context of magical beliefs, why it is that we don't seem believe in magic anymore, and develop an awareness of those magical beliefs that persist in science today.
... Read more

Amazon.com

In Mill, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, David Macaulay pays tribute to the historically important mills of 19th-century New England. Using close-up pen-and-ink illustrations, Macaulay thoroughly explains the Yankee ingenuity that went into the elaborate process of running machines that were generated by the flow of water. In the case of this cotton mill in the imaginary town of Wicksbridge, Macaulay also demonstrates how important the mill was to a community's economic and social viability. In one scene, he shows the men and women celebrating the framing of the mill with a festive, barn-raising-style party. Macaulay tracks the mill's history, expertly explaining how all its new fixtures and materials reflect the political and industrial changes in the country. For example, in 1852 the owner sides with his abolitionist wife and shuns the use of "Negro cloth," inexpensive cloth made from slave-picked cotton. Instead he decides to start producing multi-colored, finer fabrics--a decision that leads to the expansion of the mill and the introduction of the steam engine. This is a finely woven offering, filled with technical intricacies and intriguing historical details. But ultimately, Macaulay's Mill is generated by the human story that led to the building of New England's cotton mills--as well as their eventual demise. (Ages 9 and older) --Gail Hudson ... Read more

Reviews (3)

To Whole Cloth
This is an important book. Written for children, it can be used just as effectively by adults to comprehend the beginnings of the industrial revolution in the United States. Learn and see how men tamed our rivers and how men, women and children were swallowed up in these great monuments to progress.

The illustrations are remakable. David Macaulay deftly describes and illustrates how the technology that made America a world industrial power came to the young new country and how American ingenuity improved it and made the nation into a world class economic juggernaut.

The author is a superb story teller, and anyone who would like to visualize the nature of mills and to understand the profound impact of this technology on our country should read it.

I highly recommend this great children's book to everyone.

Mill
A wonderful story that takes the reader through the life and times of an infant small village mill into the mature years of a 20th century factory-mill. Excellent illustrations, and fun storyline that allows the reader to become involved with the life of the mill. I loved it.

A Great Book
Mill is, simply put, remarkably well crafted. In it, David Macaulay gives us a brief history of the beginnings of the textile industry in America, walks us through the planning and construction of four successively more complex mills, lavishly illustrates the buildings, the machines and their power sources and, at the same time, manages to thoroughly convince us that we would never want to work in one.

This last trick is subtle and, to my knowledge, doesn't appear in any of the other books in this series. From Cathedral, City and, to a lesser extent, Castle, you get the distinct feeling that these were great and noble projects that you would have loved to have been a part of. You get this sense too from Mill, but the heady rush that comes with the idea of building something from the ground up is tempered by small, fictional diary entries that betray the harshness of life for those who worked in the mills after their completion.

Mill is a strong contender for a place in your personal and permanent library. It is beautifully illustrated, historically grounded, thoroughly researched, accented with social commentary and, most importantly, it is an enjoyable, absorbing read. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1945, we told the world, Never again. In 1992, the promise was broken into bloody shards. That was the year the war broke out in Sarajevo, Bosnia, the year that genocide revisited the planet. It was the year that Ervin Rustemagic -- an international businessman whose clients included author Joe Kubert -- found himself and his family trapped in a city under siege. Ervin`s only means of communication to the outside world was via his fax machine. As Joe began to receive these messages from Ervin, he did what he had done for years -- he put the story to paper. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

The Power of Image and Text
In the pages of this book are probably the most heart-gripping images ever put to print. Joe Kubert, a 50 year veteran of the comic book industry and one of the finest graphic storytellers alive, has brought to the world the harrowing tale of cartoonist and publisher Ervin Rustemagic and his family, trapped in Sarajevo during the 1992-93 seige. The plight of short supplies, unseen snipers, an impotent worldwide bureaucracy, the ever-present threat of violent death, the deceptively euphemistic horror of "ethnic cleansing", and no means of escape would have brought weaker people to their knees. Rustemagic's true story of survival, in the purest sense, is a nightmarish, but necessary read, to understand what the Sarajevans endured on a daily basis. Told in a combination of painstakingly detailed panels (some of Joe Kubert's finest work ever), segments of fax transmissions (Rustemagic's only means of contact with the outside world), and a collection of photographs taken during the seige. This is a story that must be told, so the world will not dare forget.

A powerful tale, but not well executed
While reading this graphic novel, I continually found myself wishing it existed in a pure, written format, like a traditional novel. I have nothing against grahic novels, I collected comics for a number of years when I was younger and even today will occassionally pick up a comic or graphic novel I've heard of. But this one somehow manages to fall short of its obviously heart-felt attempt to be a great piece of story telling.

I became interested in "Fax" while speaking with a friend who spent a year in Kosovo and witnessed many of the same atrocities shown in "Fax." So I finally picked up a copy and read it.

My difficulty is not with the story so much as the art. Joe Kubert does have a knack for showing war, but his artwork is very inconsistent, particularly in his drawings of people. Throughout the book I had difficulty distinguishing some of the characters from one another. Kubert has a scratchy art style that just did not necessarily lend itself well to this story.

And because of the artistic inconsistencies, it made it difficult to follow the story in places. I'm considering re-reading it and perhaps the second time through, with a bit more familiarity with all that is going on, I'll be able to better appreciate it.

Its' clear Kubert poured himself into this book, the problem is his artistic style may not have the best one for relating this story.

Still, I do recommend it. It tells a frightening tale of a war that we in America still seem largely ignorant of, and it also functions as a cautionary tale against the atrocities precipitated by hate and violence.

Kubert's most relevant (anti-)war book yet.
Unlike Safe Area Goradze, this story isn't drawn by someone who was there. This book is Kubert's gift to a friend and colleague - yes it's done in the same artistic style as Kubert used in his superhero and war books, but this isn't Sgt Rock, or even Enemy Ace.
Unlike some of the others who have reviewed this book, I found that the story works well as told in an American comic style. This is the story of the Rustemagic family, but it's also the story of the horror felt by their friends around the world once they realized what was happening.
This is a book about Americans awakening to a horror happening halfway around the world, as well as a book about the horrors of ethnic cleansing and civil war.

a flawed novel...
I mistakenly picked this book up, thinking it was "Safe Area". I had heard about a graphic novel about the atrocities in Sarajevo, but wasn't sure of the title. The story is amazing, but many times I feel like I'm seeing the Hulk or Captain America in the role of the protagonist. There is a gaping lack of realism to the book, primarily in the way the characters are drawn. The subject is dark, but the characters look like they popped out of a Disney film. One reviewer compared this to Maus. This doesn't even come close. Maus is a masterpiece, while this book almost seems like hardly any work or research went into it.

First of all, Maus is in black and white, almost drawn in a woodcut style, to deepen the impact of the story. Art Spiegelman really researched the project, and it shows. He interwove his complicated relationship with his parents and mother's suicide with the Holocaust. He made us see how he was affected by the Holocaust. Kubert is in the States the whole time, reading faxes. He really didn't have any significant role in the story. So, what does this have to do with what happened in Sarajevo?

Then he admittedly took liberties with the dialogue and obviously embellished parts of the story. The admission by the author of improvised dialogue automatically lessens the impact of the story...This project should have been left to its protagonist, Mr. Rustemagic to write and realize. I will be checking out "Safe Area" instead.

I do give the book 2 stars because it, despite its flaws, serves as testimony to a horrifying chapter in world history. For that, the author definitely deserves kudos.

Society Unraveled
I heard about this book when it first came out and I simply had to check it out.

Why would a well-known artist like Joe Kubert abandon the hum-drum of fictional comics to produce a full-length journalistic book...? How could he expect it to even sell?

When the Cranberries wrote a song about Sarajevo, comparing the hatred there to that of Northern Ireland, the topic of Joe's book made me sit up and listen. And I am so glad I did. Joe's connection to the subject matter is personal, and I think that this one fact makes this book a classic work of literature in its own time. Despite his bias because of his closeness to the situation, Joe takes the time to present the complexity of the situation in Bosnia with his art and editorial commentary. And for this I am very thankful.

When I traveled to Croatia in 1997, this book gave me an emotional "frame of reference" from which to speak to the people I met, and I was met with passionate affirmations of the fear, frustration, and outrage that the people there were feeling, being threatened by people who hated them, not for political reasons, but for their ancestry or religion.

Imagine: You walk outside one day and suddenly people on the street are drawing lines between people where they never drew them before. They taunt, persecute, even shoot at people who look just like them, went to school with them, and live across the street from them. This is not a phenomenon limited to Bosnians. It's a human phenomenon, and it's happening right now, in the U.S. between narrow-minded Americans and people who they fear for illegitimate reasons.

Kubert succeeds in framing, accurately, how, given the right chain of events, the seeming tight knot of trust and brotherhood in society can quickly unravel. ... Read more

Book Description

A dramatization in verse of the murder of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. “The theatre as well as the church is enriched by this poetic play of grave beauty and momentous decision” (New York Times). “Within its limits the play is a masterpiece.... Mr. Eliot has written no better poem than this and none which seems simpler” (Mark Van Doren, The Nation).
... Read more

Reviews (8)

Murder in the Cathedral
The play is about Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury and is not worth reading if you like a literal story, where what you read is what you get and reading between the lines is unnecessary. That is what I liked about this play. It allows you to interpret the dialogue so that you develop your own understanding behind the plot.
Thomas Becket lived in the 12th century and rose to power because of his friend King Henry. Becket at first had been a Chancellor in Henry’s court and had then been given the title of Archbishop. Henry wanted him to have both the titles whereas Becket refused because he felt he could not perform both jobs to the same expectations. This was because Henry had radical views about the separation of the church and the state and Becket did not agree with these views because he did not believe he could serve two very opposite masters. The result was an argument between the two.
Literally, Henry and Becket are in a skirmish during the play, but the actual conflict is between Becket and his conscience. The play goes deep into Christianity and the Catholic faith, which I found to be enjoyable. Just as Christ had tempters, so does Becket. They offer him power and material wealth, when all they want in return is for Becket to alter and transform his principles.
I liked how you saw main characters in this play, such as the Chorus, progress from fearing the unknown to joyfully accepting God. While the play has Christian connotations within, it stresses primarily on universal human values such as humility and devotion.
The entire play is written in verse and Eliot managed to capture such complex themes and dialogue in such concise yet poetic words.

Should do research first
This book was a little difficult to understand especially if you don't comprehend the way Shakespeare wrote his plays. You should really research the story of Thomas Becket before reading this also. The story starts off as a celebration of the returning of the Archibishop after being gone for seven years. As you read on it gets a little more interesting. If you like action or suspense there is plenty of it in the second half of this play. When two of the King's knights have a confrontation with the Archbishop Thomas Becket, the following day the knights return with orders to kill the Archbishop due to the disagreements he had with the king such as the disagreement of the coronation of the king's son, overall this was an okay book, though I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

English in spite of all
This 1935 play is a gem in English drama.

First, the tone, the style, the poetry are purely shakespearian. It gives the play a power it would otherwise never have. The biblical inspiration is not at all clear or direct. There are four tempters and temptations whereas Jesus only had three temptations and one tempter.

The play does not only recall the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. It shows he probably sinned, committed the sin of pride or vanity, though with the best intention : to establish the church as the supreme ruler. Yet this event is also the first fight between the English crown and the church, a fight that will culminate under Henry VIII with the creation of the Church of England.

The play is also a clear argumentation in favor of that extreme act for several reasons. One, sympathy for the underdog is not justice. Two, the killers were absolutely disinterested and were to be banished after the act. Three, this murder was necessary to strengthen the King's power, hence the country. Four, Thomas was a « monster of egotism » verging into mania and he committed « suicide while of unsound mind ».

But the play is a lot wider than that. It defends the simple people who suffer all the time. It defends those who possess some fraction of truth, for which it is worth dying if necessary. It advocates the most total and radical freedom of thought, freedom of speech and freedom to defend one's ideas to the bitter and bloody end that society will necessarily impose.

Finally it shows that England has three levels of power : the King, the barons and the church, and one level of constant fear and suffering, the people, the labourers. Here the church is curbed to the King's power. Later on the King's power will be curbed to the barons' power with John Landless, and that will be the beginning of parliamentary power, of democracy. Thomas Becket refuses to go that way, hence slowing down history by strengthening the King only and leading England into centuries of strife among barons and between two families to control the throne as the only source and center of power. Parliamentarism will only succeed fully in the seventeenth century. Thomas Becket's choice could have been different, from a political point of view that he refuses from the very start.

Was it a sacrifice for nothing ? We can ask the question because the people will go on suffering for ever and ever, no matter what, in this vision of history.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

not quite up to A Man for all Seasons
T. S. Eliot's short play, Murder in the Cathedral, was originally written for the Canterbury festival and tells the story of the murder of Archbishop Thomas Beckett (1118-70) by Henry II's henchmen. It is essentially an extended lyrical consideration of the proper residence of temporal and spiritual power, of the obligations of religious believers to the commands of the State, and of the possibility that piety can be selfish unto sin.

Beckett is one of the more interesting characters from history. Rising from a lowly birth in the Cheapside section of London, largely thanks to the patronage of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1154 he became both archdeacon of Canterbury and Henry's chancellor. Theobald expected him to defend the prerogatives of the Church, but instead he became fast friends with Henry, partook of a sybaritic lifestyle, and extended the power of the State at the expense of the Church. So when Theobald was succeeded by Beckett, Henry expected to have a compliant ally running the Church, but instead Beckett adopted an ascetic lifestyle and became a fearsome defender of the rights of the Church. After dividing on many minor issues, matters came to a head when Henry tried exerting the authority of Crown courts to punish clerics who had been convicted by ecclesiastical courts. Henry determined to reign him in, put Beckett on trial for misappropriating funds while serving as Chancellor, and Beckett was forced to flee to France.

The play opens as Beckett returns to Canterbury in December of 1170, after seven years in exile. Four Tempters approach him, separately, and offer him reasons why he should cease to resist Henry. The first Tempter offers the prospect of physical safety if he will go along to get along :

The safest beast is not the one that roars most loud, This was not the way of the King our master! You were not used to be so hard upon sinners When they were your friends. Be easy, man! The easy man lives to eat the best dinners. Take a friend's advice. Leave well alone, Or your goose may be cooked and eaten to the bone.

The second offers worldly power, riches and fame in the service of the King :

King commands. Chancellor richly rules, This is a sentence not taught in schools. To set down the great, protect the poor, Beneath the throne of God can man do more? Disarm the ruffian, strengthen the laws, Rule for the good of the better cause, Dispensing justice make all even, Is thrive on earth, and perhaps in heaven.

The third offers him an alliance with the barons and the opportunity to work against the King :

For a powerful party Which has turned its eyes in your direction-- To gain from you, your Lordship asks. For us, Church favour would be an advantage, Blessing of Pope powerful protection In the fight for liberty. You, my Lord, In being with us, would fight a good stroke At once, for England and for Rome, Ending the tyrannous jurisdiction Of king's court over bishop's court, Of king's court over baron's court.

The final Tempter, who may be the Devil himself, offers Beckett the chance to supplant the King, but with a caveat :

Fare forward to the end. all other ways are closed to you Except the way already chosen. But what is pleasure, kingly rule, Or rule of men beneath a king, With craft in corners, stealthy stratagem, To general grasp of spiritual power? Man oppressed by sin, since Adam fell-- You hold the keys of heaven and hell. Power to bind and loose : bind, Thomas, bin, King and bishop under your heel. King, emperor, bishop, baron, king : Uncertain mastery of melting armies, War, plague, and revolution, New conspiracies, broken pacts; To be master or servant within an hour, This is the course of temporal power. The Old King shall know it, when at last breath, No sons, no empire, he bites broken teeth. You hold the skein : wind, Thomas, wind The thread of eternal life and death. You hold this power, hold it.

THOMAS :

Supreme, in this land?

TEMPTER :

Supreme, but for one.

And so Beckett resists this blandishment just as he has the others, but then the fourth Tempter cannily tempts him with his own dream, the desire for martyrdom :

What can compare with glory of Saints Dwelling forever in presence of God? What earthly glory, of king or emperor, what earthly pride, that is not poverty Compared with richness of heavenly grandeur? Seek the way of martyrdom, make yourself the lowest On earth, to be high in heaven. And see far off below you, where the gulf is fixed, Your persecutors, in timeless torment, Parched passion, beyond expiation.

Here Thomas Beckett realizes the peril of his own soul :

Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain: Temptation shall not come in this kind again. The last temptation is the greatest treason To do the right deed for the wrong reason.

If he selfishly seeks martyrdom out of a personal desire for immortality, rather than selflessly accepting the risk of death while defending what he believes is right, then he will commit treason against the very Lord he is supposedly serving.

In Part Two of the play Beckett is confronted and murdered by Four Knights, acting at the behest, explicit or otherwise, of Henry. Beckett had further antagonized Henry, upon his return, by opposing the coronation of Henry's son. This prompted the King to his infamous utterance : "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" On December 29, 1170, four knights of his court assassinated Beckett inside the Canterbury cathedral, turning an already heinous act into a cause celebre throughout Christendom. Eliot uses this section of the play to explore the possibility that Beckett was actually wrong in his argument with Henry.

In their initial confrontation the Knights are quite worked up, but Beckett answers reasonably :

THE THREE KNIGHTS :

You are the Archbishop in revolt against the King; in rebellion to the King and the law of the land; You are the Archbishop who was made by the King; whom he set in your place to carry out his command. You are his servant, his tool, and his jack, You wore his favors on your back, You had your honours all from his hand; from him you had the power, the seal and the ring. This is the man who was the tradesman's son : the back- stairs brat who was born in Cheapside; This is the creature that crawled upon the King; swollen with blood and swollen with pride. Creeping out of the London dirt, Crawling up like a louse on your shirt, The man who cheated, swindled, lied; broke his oath and betrayed his King.

THOMAS :

This is not true. Both before and after I received the ring I have been a loyal subject to the King. Saving my order, I am at his command, As his most faithful vassal in the land.

But is that "Saving my order" which sticks in the craw of royalists, the idea that Beckett owes a higher duty to the Church, on some things, than to the Crown. Just as the Knights are about to strike him down they are interrupted by some priests and Beckett has time to prepare himself for the now inevitable end, though the priests urge him to hide :

PRIESTS (Severally) :

My Lord you must not stop here. To the minster. Through the cloister. No time to waste. They are com- ing back, armed. To the altar, to the altar.

THOMAS :

All my life they have been coming, these feet. All my life I have waited. Death will come only when I am worthy, And if I am worthy, there is no danger. I have therefore only to make perfect my will.

Beckett can now sense that he is approaching the proper attitude of selflessness, that he is truly accepting martyrdom in defense of the ideas and ideals of the Church, rather than selfishly seeking martyrdom for personal reasons of fame and glory. So when the Knights return and the priests propose barring the doors, he says :

Unbar the doors! throw open the doors! I will not have the house of prayer, the church of Christ, The sanctuary, turned into a fortress. The Church shall protect her own, in her own way, not As oak and stone; stone and oak decay, Give no stay, but the Church shall endure. The church shall be open, even to our enemies. Open the door!

Indeed, so long as the Church stood for a higher set of ideals, separate from petty political concerns, it did endure and served a vital function in society. This endurance depended on the willingness of men like Beckett to sacrifice their all for these ideals, eschewing political power and wealth and running the risk of offending the temporal powers.

Eliot, however, does not leave it at that. He also allows the murd

Brilliant!
T.S. Eliot, arguably the best poet of the twentieth century, displays his brilliance in this play. Written after Eliot's conversion, this play discusses the fundamental issues of the burden of temptation, the need for humbleness, and the role of motivation in actions. His brilliant use of symbolism and imagery to convey the profound themes makes this rather short work excellent reading. ... Read more