Making friends and changing the world: Fierce Convictions by Karen Swallow Prior

Thanks so much to Rebecca Florence Miller of the Evangelical Channel, who let us reprint this great review of a book we’re quite fond of at Work Cited from her blog, where it appeared during Women’s History Month.

Here at the very end of Women’s History Month, we are given a great opportunity to get to know a woman who was highly influential in progressing social reforms in Western society and in the literary world but who has been all but lost to history: Hannah More.

For a while now, I’ve been hearing great things about Karen Swallow Prior’s new book, Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More–Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist. Although very prominent in literary, artistic, and influential circles in nineteenth century England, More’s name has faded away over time. Her style of writing fell out of style, her first biographer made her into more of a unrealistic saint than the actual fascinating human being she was, and she was subjected to ruthless attacks on her character. All of this led to us not knowing her name any more today.

Enter Karen Swallow Prior. Prior is a professor of English at Liberty University, is the author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me, and contributes to such publications as Christianity Today, The Atlantic, and Relevant magazine, among other publications. Prior had written her dissertation on the life of Hannah More and remained fascinated with her. When encouraged to write a popular biography detailing More’s story, she poured her heart and soul into the project.

Hannah More was born into modest circumstances in 1745 in England. She lived in a very stratified society, which viewed itself as a hierarchical ladder, with each rung supporting the rungs above and below it. Despite her humble beginnings, she was smart and witty and able to make friends across a wide array of social, political, and religious lines. She cared a great deal about education and as devout as she was, in many ways she was quite progressive for her time.

More’s career as an educator began when she established a school with her sisters in her city of Bristol. Later she would move to London and begin friendships with such prominent figures as the famous actor David Garrick and with such esteemed writers as Samuel Johnson. Garrick supported her work as a playwright. Although her plays were largely very well received and she was acclaimed in London high society, she eventually gave up her glamorous society life. Her Christian faith–always important to her–became even more central to her sense of purpose and life. Personal acclaim became far less important than living out her sense of mission and call.

The biggest transformation in her life came about when she read a book of letters by John Newton (author of the hymn “Amazing Grace” and former slave trader) called Cardiphonia. The book was focused around a vital, living Christianity, alive and full of heart. It was a personal faith. Later, a changed More came to know Newton personally, and they became allies in the fight against slavery. More became far less enamored with the glitz and glamour of London and much more interested in simply having a positive effect on society, easing suffering, and caring for those in need.

One of More’s most central–and labor-intensive–campaigns was the cause of abolition. It staggers the mind to consider that she, with such compatriots as the British lawmaker William Wilberforce, fought for the abolition of slavery for decades. From the start of their campaign in the late 1780s, the fight kept going until the slave trade was abolished in 1807 and emancipation was made law in 1833. It was a long, hard slog, but More contributed to the cause in many ways–and never gave up. She presented the argument for abolition to friends and acquaintances, providing information of what it really encompassed. She wrote poetry that captured the horrors of slavery in heart-rending detail, seeking to seize upon the country’s moral imagination and lead further along a path of empathy. She led boycotts of sugar that was tied to slave plantations in the West Indies, willing to forgo her own pleasure for the sake of the suffering. She was a master at mustering the nation’s shared values, including its professed Christian beliefs, to the aim of ending slavery. She believed Christians could not be “Gospel” people and support the horrors of the slave trade.

More had many other projects by which she hoped to benefit society. Particularly close to her heart were the needs of the lower classes. She was concerned that they be educated and established Sunday Schools which taught poor children to read.  Prior writes:

The idea of educating the class of people who were born to labor, as most believed, was a radical idea (141).

But educate them she did! In doing so, she empowered them to more dignity and potential to move out of poverty. More was also instrumental in activism for animal rights, working to abolish the horrible blood sports carried out in high and low societies. She accomplished a great deal in terms of literary achievements, often seeking to avoid the spotlight by writing anonymously–but frequently being found out. Her most influential writings were her tracts for the lower classes and her one novel. All of these were bestsellers. While the strong moralism found in these writings doesn’t appeal very well to modern readers, for her time these writings were very influential. Her novel helped to bridge the gap between the novel being seen as “low culture” to its movement to higher culture as a legitimate art form.

More was a person of her times, so she too unfortunately viewed the world in stratified terms. I especially appreciated Prior’s engagement with these facts. She doesn’t let More off the hook but does seek to help the reader understand how More may have found it virtually impossible to envision different social viewpoints than many of her society. Prior makes a strong case that More was able to challenge and engage her culture in a number of areas and to move society forward in a number of progressive ways, but that she also had a number of blindspots.

More is a compelling figure, but I was especially interested to better understand what drew Prior to her long-term effort to tell the story of Hannah More. Her admiration for More–despite some of More’s admitted flaws–is clear. Curious about the impact More has had on her life, I asked Prior what she most admired and hoped to emulate about Hannah More. She said it was hard to choose just one thing, but she told me:

One of the aspects of More’s life I find so compelling and inspiring is how wide and diverse her network of friendship was. As conservative as she was, she embodied a classically liberal spirit in her love of all kinds of people. This love was, I think, the fuel that fired her astonishing influence.

It’s true. Hannah More had a beautiful habit of making friends of virtually everybody, even of those who saw the world quite differently from her. There were a few areas where she failed to do this, but overall her habit of bringing all kinds of people near is warm and winsome. Hannah More’s example is really beautiful, and it would be a fantastic one to see we as Christians emulate more often. Can we come near to those who believe differently than us–whether religiously or politically? Instead of viewing those who are different as enemies, can we establish genuine, caring friendships with those who are very different? I find myself challenged to go and do likewise.

Note: I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for writing an honest review.

Rebecca Florence Miller is a writer and editor with a background in pastoral ministry. You can read more about her here and here.