1517

1517 is a remarkable exploration of the Reformation's most famous scene, Martin Luther's posting of the Theses on the Wittenberg church door. By unpacking the memory and meaning of this episode as it has been interpreted and reinterpreted across five centuries of European history, Peter Marshall reveals how the contingencies of time and place have shaped our understanding of the Reformation and how the Reformation, in turn, has maintained its place in the historical imagination as a turning point on the path to the present. Packed with detail, stories, facts, and arguments, and beautifully written, this will surely prove to be one of the most original of the books written to mark the Reformation quincentenary. * C. Scott Dixon, author of The Church in the Early Modern Age * Interesting reading for both scholars of the Reformation and history buffs in general. Marshall finds a unique niche in a year replete with wider biographies of Luther and histories of the early Reformation. * Kirkus * A story worth telling... a beautiful example of what popular cultural history can be... Writers of future anniversary histories should take note. * Dmitri Levitin, Literary Review * Admirable work of detection, demythologisation, and historiography. * John Arnold, Church Times * Anyone wanting an accessible overview of the beginning of the Reformation and the role of Martin Luther will find Peter Marshall's 1517 an ideal read. [...] This is altogether an excellent book, not only for those who wish to learn something about the start of a movement, but also how today we try to come to an understanding of what history was, is, and can be. * Peter Costello, Irish Catholic * In 1517, Peter Marshall rounds up all the available evidence ... and lays it tidily before us with both clarity and a puckish enjoyment of its more absurb manifestations ... In this quincentennial year, the market is inevitably awash with books on Luther and the Protestant Reformation. If you only want to read one or two of them ... you could do a great deal worse than starting here. * Moira Briggs, Vulpes Libris * Compelling. * Anne Inman, Pastoral Review * 1517 sorts fact from fiction and provides an intriguing case study of the way historical memory is created. * Jonathan Wright, Catholic Herald * Highly recommended. * Church of England Newspaper *