The classic political satire about an imaginary ideal world by one of the Renaissance’s most fascinating figures.

Named after a word that translates literally to “nowhere,” Utopia is an island dreamed up by Thomas More, a devout Catholic, English statesman, and Renaissance humanist who would be canonized as a saint centuries after he was executed for choosing God over king. More’s novel introduces us to Utopia’s society and its customs. It is a place of no private property and no lawyers; of six-hour workdays and simple ways; and, intriguingly, of a combination of values that blend the traditional with the highly controversial, from euthanasia to married priests to slavery.

Remarkably thought-provoking, it is a novel that asks us to question what makes a perfect world—and whether such a thing is even possible.

On the Sublime