Tyndale biographies, it would seem, are somewhat like London buses. You wait for ages for one to come, then two come along together! Until the mid 1990's, no serious biographies of Tyndale were written since J F Mozley's William Tyndule published in 1937 and prior to that the only serious Tyndale biography was Robert Demaus' William Tyndale published by the Religious Tract Society in 1871. Now, within the space of just eight years, two major new biographies of Tyndale have come along. David Daniell's biography first published in 1994 with the somewhat cold and unimaginative title, William Tyndale : A Biography, is now followed by Brian Moynahan's more imaginatively titled biography William Tyndule : If God Spare My Life, first published in 2002 (but in 2003 in its present form).

Though this is a review of Moynahan's book, it is difficult to review it without comparison to Daniell's work. Daniell's background is academic (he is Emeritus Professor of English in the Univeristy of London), whereas Moynahan's background is journalistic. These very different backgrounds show through in the two biographies. Daniell's biography is pedestrian and dull, whereas Moynahan's book makes gripping reading. It is as exciting as any novel. And there is no reason why it should be otherwise since Tyndale's life has all the elements of an exciting adventure story.

There are many gaps in our knowledge of Tyndale's life and so any biography of Tyndale must involve some historical speculation. Daniell's book often reads like a Professor's notebook detailing further research to be done and, as one would expect, there are numerous notes. These are placed at the end of the book, which is a pain if you (as I) cannot pass a note without looking it up! Moreover, in spite of the fact that he is Emeritus Professor of English, Daniell's prose is often tortuous. Moynahan, on the other hand, without sacrificing scholarship, writes like an investigative journalist in clear and crisp prose and uses very few end notes (only eleven in the whole book!).

Professor Daniell is the acknowledged expert on Tyndale. In addition to his biography, he has also produced scholarly modern spelling editions of Tyndale's translations of the New Testament (1989) and the Old Testament (1992), published numerous articles relating to Tyndale and is the chairman of the William Tyndale Society (see their web site at www.ryndale.org). His biography is essential for the serious study of Tyndale. However, if you are looking for a good read, which does not sacrifice depth of treatment, Moynahan takes the field. It grips you from the first page till the last and is one of those rare books which you will be sad to finish.

The book, however, does have its blemishes. Errors have crept in a couple of Greek words, whose renderings were important for Reformation theology (p. 72). More seriously, in a few places the author reveals his acceptance of liberal views of the Bible (p. 178, 182, 405); at times he shows sympathy for Roman Catholic doctrines and shows an unclear grasp of the Reformer's teachings (p. 139f., 194, 201, 240).

However, these blemishes should not deter readers of this magazine from this thrilling account of Tyndale's life. Moynahan is unsparing in his exposure and criticism of the moral degeneration and cruelty of the Church of Rome in Tyndale's day. He does not attempt to gloss over these evils in the interests of ecumenism, as is so fashionable today. Also Moynahan counterbalances modern misconceptions of Thomas More (canonised in 1935 and, ironically, made patron saint of politicians in 2000) as a saintly man of letters popularised, for example, in the film AMan forAllSeasons. Moynahan exposes him as an intolerant and sadistic man who took real pleasure in the sufferings of his victims.

As a footnote, it is worth noting that what emerges from both Daniell's and Moynahan's biographies is that Tyndale was a reformer of the very first rank, who has been greatly neglected and whose contribution to the Reformation has been grossly underrated.

Dr. Anthony G Baxter