Martin Heale is a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Liverpool, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has published widely on the history of the late medieval and sixteenth-century church, with a particular focus on the religious orders. His publications include The Dependent Priories of Medieval English Monasteries, Monasticism in Late Medieval England c.1300-1535, The Late Medieval English College and its Context (co-edited with Clive Burgess) and The Prelate in England and Europe, 1300-1560.

"This detailed, well-written and magisterial study of monastic superiors, abbots and priors in late mediaeval and Reformation England transforms our understanding of the subject. It is a significant addition to the literature on mediaeval English monasticism and clarifies many obscure corners. It takes a refreshingly clear look at a neglected subject and shows the ways in which the role, and even the character, of the monastic superior developed and changed in the generations before the Dissolution of the Monasteries." -- Dom Aidan Bellenger OSB, Ecclesiastical Law Journal

"This beautifully produced book is a study of the role of heads of male monastic houses in England and Wales between the early fourteenth century and c. 1580, taking account of the evidence for all orders and of all sizes of house, in as far as this is possible... This book fills very successfully a gap in the existing scholarship, for there has not hitherto been such an overview as it provides either for England or the Continent." -- Lynda Rollason (Durham Unive rsity), Journal of Medieval Monastic Studies Vol.6

"An ample and structured Select Bibliography, along with an Index of People and Places and an Index of Subjects, the former with substantial coverage, complete a very competent and stimulating contribution whose thoroughness merits respect and careful digestion." -- Anthony Ward, Revue dâhistoire ecclésiastiqu

"[A]n excellent, broad survey of the critical roles of abbots and priors in monastic houses during this era of profound change....Highly recommended."--CHOICE

"This is a valuable book, contributing a plethora of detailed information"--Times Literary Supplement