Foxe''s Book of Martyrs

One of the most famous pieces of propaganda, a frenzied account of the persecution of Protestants in 16th century Europe

Few books match the historical influence of Foxe''s Book of Martyrs. In vigorous, outraged prose, Foxe dramatized the "persecutions and horrible troubles" of those who had fallen victim to the Catholics, with lurid details and illustrations intended to agitate the reader''s sense of horror and disgust. Foxe''s book is a notorious work of propaganda, a founding Protestant text, and a mish-mash of serious scholarship, half-truths, and outrageous assertions. This selection from Foxe, with a full introduction, notes, and reproductions of key illustrations, is essential to understanding not only Elizabethan Britain, but also the core ideology that underpinned British anti-Catholicism and its centuries-long aversion to continental Europe.