The Ends of Life

The Ends of Life examines the ways in which English men and women between the early sixteenth and late eighteenth centuries sought to lead fulfilling lives. In doing so it illuminates the central values of the period, while at the same time throwing incidental light on some of the perennial problems of human existence.

Sir Keith Thomas is a Fellow of All Souls College and former President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He is the author of several highly acclaimed books on early modern England, including Religion and the Decline of Magic, which won the Wolfson Literary Award for History in 1972. A former trustee of the National Gallery and the British Museum, he is an Honorary Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society and was President of the British Academy between 1993 and 1997.

Introduction
1: Fulfilment in an Age of Limited Possibilities
2: Military Prowess
3: Work and Vocation
4: Wealth and Possessions
5: Honour and Reputation
6: Friendship and Sociability
7: Fame and the Afterlife
Note on References
Abbreviations
Notes
Index