Thomas More's Magician: A Novel Account of Utopia in Mexico
In 1532, eleven years after the Spanish conquest, Mexico is in crisis. As the conquistadors discover an earthly paradise, its peoples and their Gods are being destroyed. This is a time of greed, uncertainty—and idealism. Despairing of his surroundings, Vasco de Quiroga, a new member of the Spanish ruling council, forges a commune on Mexico City's outskirts, using Thomas More's book, Utopia, as his blueprint. As Toby Green explores Quiroga’s story, he begins to sense an eerie resonance between...
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A fascinating account of one man’s attempt to create a real–life Utopia.In 1532, eleven years after the Spanish conquest, Mexico is in crisis. As the conquistadors discover an earthly paradise, its peoples and their Gods are being destroyed. This is a time of greed, uncertainty—and idealism. Despairing of his surroundings, Vasco de Quiroga, a new member of the Spanish ruling council, forges a commune on Mexico City's outskirts. What distinguishes Quiroga's project is that he uses Thomas More's book, Utopia, as his blueprint. As Toby Green explores Quiroga’s story, he begins to sense an eerie resonance between Quiroga’s age and our own. With vivid reconstructions of 16th–century Spain and Mexico, the narrative becomes an account not only of Quiroga, but also of Utopia as both an idea and a literary form. Toby Green uses this gripping slice of history to inquire into the feasibility of the utopian ideal: can the utopian dream exist in the 21st century?
List of IllustrationsixMapxiPreface1Part 1The Road to Dystopia7Part 2Utopia: A Model Kit135Notes281Select Bibliography319Index333
