John Foxe

John Foxe (c. 1516-1587) was one of the most important early historians of Britain and the author of Actes and Monuments (traditionally known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs), which appeared in several different editions during and after his lifetime. He spent Mary I's reign in exile due to the turbulence of the English reformation and returned to England once it was clear that Elizabeth I had embraced Protestantism. Upon his return, he continued with his Book of Martyrs, begun some years earlier, incorporating the persecution of members of the True Church from the Roman Empire to the burning of Protestants under Mary. Its first publication in 1563, as a book of 1,800 pages, was a sensation.