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 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.