Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (For Teens)

An English writer, born around 1516, who fled England when Queen Mary began burning Protestants. In exile he collected letters, trial records and last words of the martyrs, and in 1563 he published them as the Actes and Monuments, known ever since as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. He died in London in 1587.

The word comes from the Greek for “witness.” A martyr is someone who is killed because they would not deny their faith. The first Christian martyr was Stephen, in Acts 7.

Foxe was a Protestant writing at a bitter time, and his book is often harsh about the Catholic Church. This retelling tells the stories honestly but also says plainly that Protestants persecuted people too, and that today Catholic and Protestant Christians are brothers and sisters who should never treat each other that way.

Many of the martyrs were killed in cruel ways. This teen edition says what happened but leaves out the graphic detail, and focuses on what the martyrs said and believed.

Yes. In many countries Christians still face prison, violence or death for their faith. These old stories can help us pray for them and remember that following Jesus has always had a cost.

No. It is a retelling for teenagers of a few of the most famous stories, in plain modern words, keeping the martyrs’ own words where they say it best. The full book is also available. The edition used here was edited by William Byron Forbush, who added some later stories that Foxe himself did not write.