Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More: Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist

by Karen Swallow Prior

The enthralling biography of the woman writer who helped end the slave trade, changed Britain’s upper classes, and taught a nation how to read.

The history-changing reforms of Hannah More affected every level of 18th-Century British society through her keen intellect, literary achievements, collaborative spirit, strong Christian principles, and colorful personality. A woman without connections or status, More took the world of British letters by storm when she arrived in London from Bristol, becoming a best-selling author and acclaimed playwright and quickly befriending the author Samuel Johnson, the politician Horace Walpole, and the actor David Garrick. Yet she was also a leader in the Evangelical movement, using her cultural position and her pen to support the growth of education for the poor, the reform of morals and manners, and the abolition of Britain’s slave trade.

Fierce Convictions weaves together world and personal history into a stirring story of life that intersected with Wesley and Whitefield’s Great Awakening, the rise and influence of Evangelicalism, and the convulsive effects of the French Revolution. A woman of exceptional intellectual gifts and literary talent, Hannah More was above all a person whose faith compelled her both to engage her culture and to transform it.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Christian, Biography Memoir, Faith, Book Club

Audible Audio

First published October 28, 2014

About the author

Karen Swallow Prior (PhD, SUNY Buffalo) is the award-winning author of The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis; On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books; Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More--Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist; and Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me. She is a frequent speaker, a monthly columnist at Religion News Service, and has written for Christianity Today, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Vox. She is a Contributing Editor for Comment, a founding member of The Pelican Project, a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum, and a Senior Fellow at the International Alliance for Christian Education.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 Review
Hannah More's life and influence spanned so many categories that perhaps no biography would do it justice. Part of what makes this biography difficult is that it tries to cover so much in 320 pages. It simply isn't enough space. I could critique specifics (and I do wish there were more dates or at least ages inserted to better track More's life), but mainly I think that there was just too much to cover. Her work on the slave trade, her friendship with notables like Samuel Johnson, her influence on education, all these topics get discussed but still manage to feel like they only hint at a more interesting and in-depth analysis.
This is, however, a solid start and I'm grateful to Prior for introducing just how much this remarkable woman accomplished.

2017 Review
An incredibly necessary, endearing biography about Hannah More. Unfortunately, also rather dense and dry. Prior is definitely an academic and Fierce Convictions often reads like a very long research paper. However, I highly recommend this one. I hope it will be the first of many new books reexamining More and her influence on society.
Going in, I knew More was an important abolitionist; I had no idea her influence stretched to so many areas. She fought for reforms ranging from education to the humane treatment of animals. More's writing influenced the direction of society during a critical period in England's history. Her friends included many of the most famous men and women of her day.
In some ways, More stands as a striking contrast to her contemporary, Mary Wollstonecraft. Prior touches on this somewhat but that is something I'd love to analyzed more. Or imagine contrasting her life with Jane Austen's! More was a strong, incredibly influential authoress and I feel robbed that I'm only discovering her now.
To be honest, I would like to see just about everything in this book analyzed more! Not from Prior, perhaps, but from other scholars and academics. There is so much contained in this book that could be explored further. Though it doesn't give a particularly clear character sketch of More, Fierce Convictions certainly lays the groundwork for more to be written about this too long forgotten this author. (No pun intended.)

[R.J. Rodda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a woman and what a life she led! I needed to read this. Hannah More was an amazing woman who led a life of influence in her generation - using her pen and the means at her disposal to fight slavery, educate the poor, rebuke the upper class and point to a greater faith in Christ. She had an immense impact on the lives of the rich and famous in her generation but she also cared about the labouring children and struggling villagers. Not born rich herself, what she achieved was remarkable. What is most astounding is that while she wrote words of morality her works were praised - she was a best-selling writer in her time.

I've never highlighted so many quotes in a book.

Just a note - this is an historical portrait, written by a scholar and the context of the time is described. This is not written like a story.

Also for the ebook, skip past the lengthy footnotes to see the photos at the end.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just realized that I never gave this book a proper review. Well, it's about time.

I read this book at a point in my life I was discouraged. I got this on audio because I was curious about Hannah More and the cover was so pretty. I went in knowing very little about Hannah. I came out feeling like we could have been friends.

Prior is an excellent historian. She not only wrote a book about More, but also explained why some things about her life are unknown, despite her research. I like that she never made guesses and wrote them down as facts. The closest she came to that is offering two or three possible explanations for an action and then was honest that we don't really know.

There were a couple of dry moments, but overall, this book kept me reading. I mean, I read it in only two days. The narrator did an excellent job and the author is a skillful writer.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book is the light it cast on William Wilberforce and his work. He was an incredible man, but too often, people make it sound like he pretty much pushed through all the changes on his own. I think this book clearly showed that is took many people working together to change the hearts of a nation before sweeping reforms could be made.

Mostly, I came away from this book inspired by the life of Hannah More. She was a single woman who loved God, had fierce convictions, and used her skill to help shape a better future. She was an extraordinary individual whom I think makes a great role model, especially for single ladies.

I highly recommend this book for those who like history, are interested in William Wilberforce, and single ladies looking for a role model.

[Philip Mcduffie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karen Swallow Prior has done an amazing job at revealing to us the life of Hannah More. Hannah More was an author, poet, reformer, and abolitionist. She, with the work of a pen, helped to abolish the slave trade, educate the poor, and bring about reform to the upper class. Her piety for orthodox Christianity was breathtaking and her zeal for justice was astonishing. I am thankful to have been introduced to this extraordinary women and she stands among the greats when it comes to the saints of old.

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems like Hannah More was a really incredible human being. This book, however, was pretty dry. The chapters about the abolition of slavery and education for the lower class were interesting and inspiring.

[ladydusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Own.

I've long wanted to read this - I've had it for Kindle for a number of years, but just never could get moving on it. This winter I went ahead and bought all of Prior's books when On Reading Well came out.

I'm glad I started here.

I very much enjoyed reading about More, her life and her work. She was a fascinating character. Her work with Wilberforce and on her own was tireless on behalf of the neglected and poor. Her Christian witness and insistence upon it was lifechanging for many. Her attacks at the culture by using their means in a Christian way were ingenious. By turning cultural norms on their heads for Christ, she was able to reach many with the gospel of truth. More's life was beset with ups and downs and she was certainly imperfect, but she worked for the Kingdom insisting upon excellence and I suppose that is the lesson to take away. Her leaflets were Christian and were of better quality than the mainstream ones. Her poetry, plays, prose - fiction and non - were all of the highest caliber. If we want to reach a world through culture, the quality has to be there above all.

My main dissatisfactions with this book were more technical in nature. Overall, it was well written and kept my attention, but there were some notable occasions when I had to re-read paragraphs a couple of times because I lost the antecedents to the pronoun. This was one of my "Bedtime Biography" reads, so I was tired, true. I thought there were places where the writing could have been tightened up a little.

The other has to do with the way biographies are written these days - the thematic approach. Instead of mixing up all of the themes in chronological fashion, they pull different areas of interest or ideas into different chapters. I understand why people do it, but as a reader, I find it confusing to remember the threads and pull them back together in a whole picture of the person. This is a matter of taste and preference, but an important one.

[Jayna Baas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three stars is not a reflection on Hannah More herself. What an amazing woman! I only wish this book had been more engaging, easier to follow, and less of a social commentary. The chronology jumped hither and yon, and there were many times I just wanted more of Hannah’s thoughts and actions instead of authorial explanations—for instance, hinting that we must excuse Hannah for thinking men and women had separate callings. I’m so tired of writers trying to weave modern agendas into books about historical figures—although I did love the emphasis on how true Christianity and personal relationships with Christ revolutionized the treatment of women, even if I didn’t agree with all of the author’s viewpoint.

Overall, this book was very essay-style and not especially compelling—at least for me. Other readers may feel differently; it’s just not what I expected or was hoping for. Still, I’m grateful to know more about another fascinating contemporary of John Newton and William Wilberforce. Hannah’s accomplishments were truly remarkable, especially toward the end of her life. If nothing else, this was a great introduction that makes me want to know more.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderfully informative book on the 18th century poet, reformer, and abolitionist Hannah More, who worked wonders with her pen. As the author says about Hannah, “She was a woman with virtues and flaws, faith and fears, vision and blind spots. But she was also one whose unique gifts and fierce convictions transformed first her life and subsequently her world and ours.”

The book reads somewhat like an essay, having many footnotes/citations. I love that the author did so much research, and I liked learning about Hannah More’s life, but I wouldn’t call the book “pleasure reading” because of its essay-style.

[Jocelyn Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed learning about this amazing woman. I appreciate that the author provided important context for More's views, and that she didn't paint More as a saint. More had flaws and weaknesses, and knowing about them does nothing to diminish her considerable accomplishments. I wonder why I hadn't learned of Hannah More long before this. (Although she makes an appearance in the film Amazing Grace, my first real introduction to her was through the book 7 Women by Eric Metaxas.) I would be hard pressed to name which of More's accomplishments impresses me most. Worth reading.

[Victoria (hotcocoaandbooks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am going to give this 2.75 stars.
The book is very thorough and I learned so much about Hannah More. I only knew a slight about her over the past few years but not this much. This book is sadly a bit dry and boring, but it is really well researched and I am glad that I was able to learn all of the information about her.

This book covers the background of Hannah's family and talked at large about each of her sisters, all who were very close to one another and never married. They were well educated in a time when women were looked down upon for knowing much of any aspect of an ability of education.

Hannah More's early life was a bit free spirited and she lived a semi-worldly life, with some aspect of morality behind her decisions, but her conviction grew as she aged and her faith deepened greatly over time. She had started to realize her own admissions of vanity were not worth while after she had already been a playwright for a spell.

About halfway through this book we get to her abolitionist ways and how much she did to fight for the right of the slave's freedoms and justice. She was quite close friends with William Wilberforce and his wife for forty years and they died near the same time frame.

This also brings up how Hannah More was a Sunday School teacher when the practice was new and how she felt it was important to educate children to an understanding of Christ. She eventually opened up schools with her sisters for the poor and educated them in a time when there was a fear that educating the poor would bring an up-rise against the rich.

Through all of this, she also wrote several books when women authors were not too well heard of, though she had changed the whole concept of writing novels through a Christian perspective, which was not something people wanted, since that was thought as a sinful thing to do.

Basically, Hannah More brought around loads of change for women, slaves, and the poor. Go girl go.

I would have rated this book higher if it was made a little shorter, but it was again, very well done despite its yawning effects on my days.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like a few other reviewers, my rating is not a reflection of Hannah More herself but rather the style in which her story was presented. I found the writing to be a little hard to follow and mostly dull. There were some glimmers of vibrance, but it came and went. Truthfully, I skimmed on-and-off throughout most of the book because I couldn't make sense of the timeline.
I wish I had liked this better, but not all books can be winners. I definitely plan to learn more about Hannah More, I just do not plan on returning to this book.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hannah More was called the First Victorian, but I kept thinking she might also have been the First Female Blogger.

More, a woman who gained admiration for her wit and wisdom then used those gifts to promote moral causes, was a prolific writer well-known in her own day but whose works probably wouldn't appeal to the modern reader. She was not as timeless as Jane Austen, but she was timely: her essays and novel conveyed the importance of moral behavior to the newly literate lower classes and stirred the upper classes out of their moralistic stupor. She was a bestselling author in her own day, but her influence has been all but forgotten in the present day.

Karen Swallow Prior has clearly done a very thorough job researching Hannah More and this biography sheds a steady and clear light on a woman who deserves to be remembered. Prior never stoops to sensationalizing More, but is careful to be accurate in depicting every aspect of More's life. Nonetheless, I couldn't help wishing occasionally that the writing was a bit more colorful and the plot line of the narrative a bit more compelling. I certainly had to keep coaxing myself to read rather than feeling an urgency to keep reading.

If I could make one change to this book, it would be to begin with a better description of who Hannah was and why her work ought to be celebrated BEFORE diving in to a detailed description of who her parents were, what her childhood was like, who her friends were, etc. I wish I had read right away instead of waiting to discover until page 136 that "More was the single most influential woman in the British abolitionist movement." Once I knew how influential she was to Wilberforce and how devoted she was to the cause of abolition, I was eager to know more about her.

Hannah More's vision for the way a good story could captivate the imagination of a reader likely laid the groundwork for the many women who've written since her time.

[D. Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading. Hannah More was a faithful artist and evangelist and reformer, and I was encouraged to read about her life.

One criticism: Prior's analysis on classism did not have enough evidence. She made the ol' "Great Chain of Being" argument, an idea I heard thrown around in lousy social science classes. Prior gave no evidence for the influence of this philosophy. Does she need to have a philosophical explanation for the envy and pride that drove classism and slavery?

[Abby Helmuth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this, I was very quickly thrown back to college days and the hours I spent reading and writing literary criticism . . . Prior’s English professor side certainly shines through. :) Don’t go into this expecting a typical biography; it’s more like a series of essays on different themes and periods in Hannah’s life/writings. I can understand why some people find this dry, but to me it was intriguing, especially reading about all the connections between Hannah’s writing and the writing of her contemporaries. And Prior does a very good job of writing engaging prose while synthesizing a lot of research; that’s difficult to do.

It would have been nice, though, for the book to start out with a timeline of Hannah’s life and major works. I felt a bit of whiplash as there was not a linear progression of time from chapter to chapter.

[Hannah Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Wilberforce was to men, Hannah More was to women.

[Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Hannah More is, indeed, a figure I've heard about before, I still didn't know much about her, and what I did know mostly consisted of a few passing sentences in secular books that gave the impression she was a strict, self-righteous fuddy-duddy.

After reading this book, I realize how completely unfair that is. Hannah More was an amazing woman, perhaps made all the more relatable by her flaws. It's almost beyond my powers of imagination to think of how this woman impacted history. I especially admired the fact that she had such incredible influence, and yet she somehow balanced her fervor with the traits of a godly woman. It's incredibly tragic that modern culture has all but forgotten this woman who was not only instrumental in outlawing the slave trade in England, but also was largely responsible for educating England's poor. I was fascinated by her relations with the famous and intellectual of her day, and how she used her writing to largely transform the ideas of society around her.

I always find it difficult to review biographies, because it is really hard for me to separate the actual book from its subject; in other words it's my gut reaction to rate a book higher when I admire the person the biography is about, and lower the rating when I dislike him/her. However, while Fierce Convictions has certainly given me an appreciation for Hannah More, the book itself did have a few flaws. For instance, while the first chapter was about her early life and the last about her death, it was rather hard to decipher the chronology of events in between (in fact, I don't ever remember there being given a set date of Miss More's birth) and parts of it were a bit dry and boring, although never so much so that I was tempted to stop reading.

Still, if I had one word to describe this book, it would be inspiring. I can't remember the last time I read a book that so encouraged and inspired me to use my faith for good out in the world. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Hannah More has joined the ranks of George Washington, Lady Jane Grey, Francis Marion, and William Wilberforce as some of my personal heroes. I truly thank Karen Swallow Prior for writing a biography that re-introduces us to a woman to whom we owe so much.


I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hannah More enjoyed a brilliant literary career among the London literati in the late 1700’s, was an equal among William Wilberforce’s cohorts in ending the British slave trade, and brought to fruition what the Protestant Reformation boldly stated in theory: in order to understand the Scriptures, all should learn to read. So why is it that her poems, essays, pamphlets, and fiction as well as her pioneering work in education is little known today? In part it is due to her immediate friends, in part it is due to her subsequent enemies states Karen Swallow Prior in her biography Fierce Convictions: the Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist.

Hannah More’s close friend and first biographer, William Roberts, “flattened the rich textures of her personality and faith. Robert’s emendation of her letters and records re-created More in a saint’s image.” (p 252) A few generations later, the modernist movement “defined themselves principally by their rejection of the values that most defined the Victorian age: duty, family, piety. More’s reputation was irreparably tarnished when Augustine Birrell … proclaimed in a 1905 essay that he had planted his nineteen-volume set of her collected works in his garden.” (p 252) With the dismissal of the Victorian age as a whole, Hannah More, the “first Victorian,” was consigned to the dusty annals of history and forgotten. “Somewhere between Birrell’s hatred and Robers’s hagiography is a woman who was at one ordinary and remarkable,” Dr. Prior states. (p 253) In Fierce Convictions, Dr. Prior re-introduces Hannah More to a world which owes her much.

Read the rest of the review.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve long had a love for William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect (I even visited Clapham when I studied abroad in England), and Wilberforce’s world was where I first encountered Hannah More. I loved reading about her life; there was so much I didn’t know. Hannah was extraordinary as a woman in her time (1745-1833). She was single her whole life in an age that defined women by marriage; she came from a lower class family but made her own money as a prolific writer and was friends with people from every class (John Wesley! Samuel Johnson! Elizabeth Montagu!); she was well educated and intellectual in an age where female education was surface level at best; she was thoroughly Anglican but respected and worked with the Dissenting Church (Puritans, Methodists, etc.); she was absolutely tireless in her pursuit of a better world in an age of excessive wealth and crippling poverty. She was larger than life! Karen Swallow Prior calls her the nearest thing Anglicanism had to a saint and that come across loud and clear! Abolition of the slave trade and slavery was only a sliver of the work she devoted herself to.

I enjoyed getting a peek into her time period in England, too. I know a lot about the early 1800s from Jane Austen’s angle (who, incidentally knew of and may have visited More), but I know very little about the 1700s in England which shaped Hannah from birth to age 55. As Prior points out, More was very much a neoclassicist and not a romantic. She loved ideas and pioneered the writing of tracts, which Prior calls the blog posts of the 18th century. It did give me a desire to learn more about this time period and how it contributed to the fascinating two centuries that followed with Romanticism, the great Victorian age, the Great War, modernism, etc. A great read!

[E.F. Buckles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written biography about a woman whom more people should know about. Writer, abolitionist, and teacher, Hannah More did many things that impacted her country, and eventually the world for the better. I agree with the author that if good people would learn from her example and take action, some positive change could be made in our modern day world. Please, please read this book and be inspired by this complex and fascinating lady!

Content Advisory: The only thing I remember that was bothersome was a couple descriptions of the treatment of slaves. The most bothersome was a quote from a letter written by someone who had witnessed a woman being burned alive. Some description. There was also a mention of how a man on a slave ship was “laying with” a slave woman in front of everyone. No description in this case, and it was said the man was promptly and soundly punished when he was caught.

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scholarly AND delightful. I didn't want this one to be over. I want to be Hannah More, or at least have tea with her!

I'm struck with how like our modern times More was surrounded by, and the lessons we can take from her are immense. I loved Russell Moore's question in his review, and pondered multiple times throughout my reading, "How does this change the way I love from now on?"

I really enjoyed the slight leaning towards a topical biography, rather than strictly linearly. It kept the story interesting and Dr. Prior masterfully guided the topics so it never became confusing chronologically.

[Swritebol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hannah More is an amazing women and I did learn a great deal about her and wish I knew more about her, but this book was so so dry and difficult to read. I found myself having to read things over and over to even know what the author was trying to say. I have read textbooks more interesting and easy to read. It was a lot of facts but many of them relating to others of the time and not Hannah herself. I also struggled with the book not being written in chronological order. This made it difficult to follow. I am thankful to know more about Hannah, but this isn’t the book I would recommend to others.

[David West · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a life well lived. This is a worthy addition to my collection of book by/about abolitionist. Hannah More used her pen to great effect, not only against slavery, but to curb all sorts of vices and promote the truth.

"The woman who derives her principles from the Bible, and her amusements from intellectual sources, from the beauties of nature, and from active employment and exercise, will not pant for beholders."

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this biography of Hannah More inspirational. So glad I got it on kindle as I have highlighted numerous passages I would like to return to. I have also bought it in hardback for my husband to read.

[Emily Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prior’a biography of Hannah More is well researched, and sought to bring life to her character. More was an influential woman in her time, and anyone interested in British Literature or history, particularly regarding British abolition, should give this biography a chance.

[Patricia Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen Swallow Prior, a favorite writer of my dear friend, reveals the life of Hannah More, who was a poet, reformer, and abolitionist. With the power of her pen, she contributed to the abolition of the slave trade, educated the poor, and brought about social reform. Her Christian witness was inspirational and her dedication towards bringing about justice was astonishing.
I was most interested in the chapters on Abolition and her efforts to end Cruelty to Animals as well as references to Beauty and Gardening.
By turning cultural norms towards Christianity, she brought many to the Gospel. Though More faced adversities, she worked for the Kingdom. She did everything with Excellence: her Christian leaflets were of the utmost highest quality; her poetry, plays, fiction and non-fiction were all of the highest caliber.
Though her younger years were a bit ‘free spirited’, her convictions increased as she aged and her faith grew greatly over time.

Hannah More was a Sunday School teacher when the practice was new; she felt it was important to educate children to an understanding of Christ. She eventually opened up schools with her sisters for the poor and educated them in a time when there was a fear that educating the poor would bring a revolution against the rich.

In addition to doing all of this, she also wrote novels through a Christian perspective, which was not something people wanted, since that was thought as a sinful thing to do. She was revolutionary.
Favorite passages:
“Of all compellations by which the Supreme Being is designated in his holy word, there is not one so soothing, so attractive, so interesting, as that of Father; it includes the idea of reconcilement, pardon, acceptance and love.” (My heart grieves for those who did not have a good relationship with their father and cannot relate to this relationship with their Heavenly Father)
“Suspicion of beauty and form, whether in art, literature, speech or human flesh, has shadowed Christian thought throughout the history of the church; sadly so, considering God is the author of all beauty.”
“…so much do my gardening cares and pleasures occupy me that the world is not half so formidable a rival to heaven in my heart as my garden.”
Re: Slavery: “Slavery is not unlawful; the Bible allows for it. The use of money is not unlawful. But it is unlawful to rob on the highway to procure it. We say men out not to go to the coast of Africa to kidnap the natives; to subject the unfortunate wretches to the miseries of a West-Indian voyage; to sell them to be half-starved, hard-worked and ill-treated. Show us slavery without these attendants and we shall have little to objects against

[LaRae☕️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I knew nothing about Hannah More before reading this biography of her. She was a woman who had an amazing impact on her circle of influence. I think the biggest thing I have learned from her is to do what God has given you to do, and do it well. She helped bring literacy to the poor in 18th-century England, and was a big part of the abolitionist movement. She was the “First Victorian,” and the “Mother of the Evangelical Movement,” and in great part lost to history. She was both hated fiercely and loved fiercely, because of her convictions and her willingness to act on them.

This quote from the epilogue sums it up well:
“In most of the world today, however, More has now been largely forgotten — an unknown abolitionist, an obscure poet, and an outdated reformer. Yet she should be known. Somewhere between Birrell’s hatred and Robert’s hagiography is a woman who was at once ordinary and remarkable. She was a woman with virtues and flaws, faith and fears, vision and blind spots. But she was also one whose unique gifts and fierce convictions transformed first her life and subsequently her world and ours.”

[Elizabeth]

This (my DNF status) is not a reflection on the book's quality or Hannah More herself. I generally enjoy nonfiction, and this is no exception. It's well-written and well-researched.
I'm putting it on hold for two reasons. One, Karen Swallow Prior's ideologies are slowly being revealed, and I don't agree with many of her beliefs. Thus, I'm going to wait until I can read this with the attention it deserves.
And secondly, at the risk of being incredibly shallow, I can't read about every single person who accomplished anything. Even in the summer, I don't have the energy to read many nonfiction books, especially not several at a time. So unless Hannah More becomes relevant to today's culture or I need to write about early British abolitionists or counter-cultural woman writers, I am not going to continue reading Fierce Convictions.

[Bethany Broderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannah More was a fascinating woman I had never heard of before learning of this biography. As a writer, it was amazing to read how much a female writer changed the moral imagination of a culture. This book was inspiring and challenging—as much of what Hannah fought in the church and culture we still face today.

Unfortunately, the writing was a bit dry and repetitive. A couple chapters I felt were unnecessary—as they dealt with cultural issues and not Hannah directly. Entire pages I skipped without a single mention of her.

Overall, I think this is a great read if you can get past the academic tone.

[Lydia Gahafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her royal highness, Karen Swallow Prior, creates a stunning portrait of Hannah More—a woman who was fierce in her conviction and unrelenting in her kindness.

Prior opens Fierce Convictions by describing More's childhood, upbringing, and early passions. She was a literary child from the very beginning. Prior notes that "she was so moved when she first read Shakespeare as a girl that she couldn't sleep." ❤️ She, along with her sisters, opened a school to educate young girls in the local area. While many educators of the day thought female education should be merely ornamental, More believed that young women of the time should "'be furnished with a stock of ideas, and principles, and qualifications, and habits, ready to be applied and appropriated.''

More didn't simply value a secular education, however. She also hoped to instill a Christian morality as well. She wanted women to be able to think for themselves and "learn to reject what is dazzling, if it be not solid; and to prefer, not what is striking, or bright, or new, but what is just." Her desire was that they would be able to see beyond the fuss and feathers of their day and be able to ground their sense of accomplishment in Christ.

More writes that one of the main motivations for this type of education is to be a true intellectual companion for a husband. While this idea of education for the sake of matrimony is quite dated, it was rather forward-thinking for More's time. Rather than seeing marriage as an economic proposition, she writes that "'when a man of sense comes to marry, it is a companion whom he wants, and not an artist.'"

While establishing her schools, More also began to dip her toes into the literary and theatrical crowd of London. She was well-liked by poets and artists alike, and her sparkling eyes and wit were almost always well-received.

However, as another well-loved English author notes, "all that glitters is not gold": our Hannah began to see through the sparkle and frivolity of high-society, London life. She noted to a friend that she was "annoyed by the foolish absurdity of the present mode of dress. Some ladies carry on their heads a large quantity of fruit, and yet they would despise a poor useful member of society who carried it there for the purpose of selling it there for bread.'" Her heart began to break for the enslaved and the poor, and she lamented that she was "ashamed of [her] comforts when [she] think[s] of their wants."

Not only does Fierce Convictions serve as a down-to-earth portrayal of dear Hannah, but it also provides a snapshot of two of her partners in the abolition movement: Newton and Wilberforce.

First of all, did YOU know that Newton himself had been captured as a slave and served an African princess?? What an irony that the man who was a slave (literally and spiritually) would come to Christ and then work to free the very ones he bound in chains. Praise God for his redemptive power!

Furthermore, Newton remarked to a young William Wilberforce that he should "stay at his post, and neither give up work, nor throw away wealth; wait and watch occasions, sure that He, who put him at his post, would find him work to do." Whether we're a young politician, a struggling teacher, or a burned out student, this is an encouragement for us that "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion." I definitely want to read more about these men.

Prior, in an enthusiastic head nod to the creatives of More's time, gives credit where credit is due: "The battle against slavery was, in many ways, led by the poets—and other writeres and artists—who expanded their country's moral imagination so it might at last see horrors too grave for the rational mind to grasp." How incredible is it that God uses creativity and imagination as a conduit for justice?

In addition to her service to the abolition movement, More also established several Sunday schools in impoverished counties close to her own home—reminding us that we do not have to travel to distant lands to share God's love with others.

Ultimately, this picture of Hannah More has encouraged and challenged me. While it's easy to applaud those who raised their fist (or their pen) against slavery in the 19th century, I'm convicted by my lack of action in the 21st century. Slavery is still a major problem today—what am I doing to love the unlovable and the forgotten beyond liking the occasional Instagram post?

In conclusion, I truly believe Hannah and I would've been great friends. Over a cup of coffee, we would have bonded over our love of the written word and talked over various injustices in the world. We would have discussed teaching methods and the importance of educating young girls, and, arm in arm, we would've taken literary pilgrimages all throughout England together.

I'll end this review with a powerful quote. One that I think sums up dear Ms. More's way of living her very humble yet very magnificent life: "She lives on her own stock. She possesses the truest independence. She does not wait for the opinion of the world to know if she is right; nor for the applause of the world, to know if she is happy."

[Tori Samar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched, informative biography about a woman who should be far more recognizable than she is. Seriously, in light of Hannah More’s historical, cultural, and literary significance as explained in this book, I am quite stunned that she was almost entirely unfamiliar to me before now.

The writing style and abundant superscripts do give this biography a decidedly academic quality. In fact, I would have preferred something that didn’t read quite so much like a textbook. Nevertheless, Prior has done a great job pulling an important woman out of relative obscurity.