Hilaire Belloc's landmark study Characters of the Reformation argues that Western Europe's break from the Catholic Church was driven by a land-grab and looting of Church property by European noblemen. Belloc has little admiration for the so-called leaders of the time and credits the Reformation to behind-the-scenes players.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1936.

In one of his most fascinating books, Anglo-French writer Hilaire Belloc presents in bold colors the twenty-three principal characters of the Protestant Reformation. He focuses primarily on those figures who changed the course of English history, analyzing their strengths, mistakes, motives and deeds. With brief and vivid chapters, Belloc paints the portraits of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, Thomas More, Mary Tudor, Thomas Cromwell, Mary Stuart and many others. He illustrates how the motives of Protestant leaders were rarely religious in nature, but usually political or economic. Belloc, who served in Parliament from 1906 to 1910, underscores his study of these powerful personalities with the fact that Christendom was once a single entity under the authority of the Catholic Church. Until the Reformation, he argues, each country viewed itself as a part of the whole. Many European princes, however, resented the power of the Pope. The Reformation, aided by the rise of nationalism, was a means for them to shake off Papal authority and to rule their territories independently. It also gave European monarchs control over the Church and its property in their realms, including the taxes that would normally be sent to Rome.

Do you believe that people can change? Can a bank robber marry the banker’s daughter without having any hidden thoughts and intentions? "A Retrieved Reformation" tells the story of Jimmy, a formal prisoner, who decides to quit violating the law in the name of love. He takes up a new identity and starts a new life as an honorable man. However he is about to face a choice which can cost him his future. Will he sacrifice himself in order to save a child in danger or he will prefer to keep his old identity in secret? William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry, was an American writer who lived in the late 19th century. He gains wide popularity with his short stories which often take place either in New York or some small American towns. The plot twists and the surprise endings are a typical and integral part of O. Henry’s short stories. Some of his best known works are "The Gift of the Magi", "The Cop and the Anthem", "A Retrieved Reformation". His stories often deal with ordinary people and the individual aspects of life. As a result of the outstanding literature legacy that O. Henry left behind, there is an American annual award after his name, given to exceptional short stories.