Martin Luther Catholic Dissident

Peter Stanford Hodder & Stoughton, €15.39

Published to mark the 500th anniversary of Luther pinning his incendiary 95 ‘theses’ or reform proposals on the door of his local church in Wittenberg, Germany, this readable biography explores how a Dominican monk of humble stock ultimately shaped the history of Europe, while laying bare the difficult temperament and exemplary courage that saw him challenge the corruption and complacency of the medieval church and trigger the Reformation.