The Oxford Handbook of Thomas More’s Utopia

Discover a masterful guide to one of the most provocative texts of the Renaissance with The Oxford Handbook of Thomas More’s Utopia, edited by Cathy Shrank and Phil Withington. This authoritative volume brings together leading scholars to illuminate Thomas More’s enduring work — its origins, textual history, political imagination, and global reception.

Richly interdisciplinary, the handbook situates Utopia within the intellectual currents of early modern Europe, from humanist networks and legal thought to print culture and colonial encounters. Contributors offer fresh readings that span close literary analysis, historical context, and the book’s afterlives in political theory, social reform, and modern debates about ideal societies. Whether you are a student of Renaissance literature, a scholar of political thought, or a curious general reader, the essays provide clear, rigorous insights and state-of-the-field overviews.

What sets this volume apart is its balance of scholarly depth and accessibility: respected experts synthesize complex research into engaging, readable chapters that make the significance of Thomas More’s Utopia unmistakable for contemporary readers. The handbook also maps how interpretations have shifted across time and geography, offering comparative perspectives valuable for courses and research in the UK, Europe, North America, and beyond.

Essential for academic libraries and personal collections alike, The Oxford Handbook of Thomas More’s Utopia is the definitive companion to understanding a text that continues to challenge and inspire. Add this indispensable resource to your shelf today and deepen your exploration of one of history’s most influential political and literary works.

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