Utopia (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition)

“We can’t do without Utopia. We are all and have always been Thomas More’s children.”
—The Guardian

Utopia, a term coined by Thomas More from the Greek meaning “nowhere,” envisions an imaginary island where a perfect society flourishes. This groundbreaking work of socio-political satire, divided into two books, offers a detailed account of the customs, governance, and daily life within this ideal community.

In Book One, More crafts a narrative through correspondence with real-life acquaintances he met across Europe, lending credibility to his fictional creation. The story then shifts to a dialogue between More and a well-traveled philosopher, Raphael Hythlodaeus, who critiques the social ills of contemporary Europe.

Book Two transports readers to the New World, where Raphael recounts his journey beyond Brazil, after parting ways with the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, to the island of Utopia. Here, he spends five years observing the islanders’ way of life, where unique practices include the election of a prince, the equitable redistribution of people to maintain balanced populations, the ease of divorce, the absence of private property, gender equality in labor, religious tolerance, and a deep aversion to war.

Utopia is a seminal work that popularized the concept of imagined societies and inspired a wealth of early literature, including Tommaso Campanella’s The City of the Sun, Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis, and Voltaire’s Candide. This robust Warbler Classics edition is based on the time-honored translation by Gilbert Burnet and includes notes by Hugh Hirsch Goitein, an introduction by Henry Morley, an afterword by George Sanderlin, a biographical sketch of More by Erasmus, and a detailed chronology.

Thomas More (1478–1535) was a distinguished English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and Renaissance humanist. Serving as Lord High Chancellor under Henry VIII from 1529 to 1532, More was a devout Catholic and a staunch opponent of the Protestant Reformation. His refusal to accept Henry VIII as the head of the Church of England and to sanction the annulment of the king’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon led to his conviction for treason and subsequent execution. In 1935, Pope Pius XI canonized More as a martyr.