Thomas Becket

How Thomas Becket came to be remembered is the subject of this bold new study. Its author asks whether the image of Becket that has passed down through the centuries reflects a fair reading of the man and the cause he fought for, or whether it was largely shaped into legend. The book also asks how far a modern reader can strip away that bias to reach the historical figure.

The afterlife of Becket's reputation runs far beyond the medieval period. His story was central to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and it has inspired later works by T.S. Eliot, Jean Anouilh and, in the modern era, Hollywood filmmakers. Tracing these reinterpretations shows how each generation reworked him to suit its own concerns.