Karen Swallow Prior. Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—-Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist. Nashville: Nelson Books (An Imprint of Thomas Nelson), 2014.
Hannah More was a writer and an activist in eighteenth-early
nineteenth century England. She wrote plays, poems, and even a novel
that was mentioned in one of Jane Austen’s unfinished works (albeit
negatively). More also worked with politician William Wilberforce to
end the slave trade, established schools for the poor, and wrote against
cruelty to animals. I had not heard of Hannah More before requesting
this book, and I did not know whether or not the book would be an
interesting read for me. But it was.
Karen Swallow Prior narrates Hannah More’s story in such a manner
that I could connect with More as a human being. More was a reserved
woman, which may explain why she never married, and she came to have
strong religious convictions. Yet, she was able to interact effectively
with various kinds of people, from different classes, religions, and
walks of life, which was significant back then on account of the
divisions between people in England. Prior also explores many of the
paradoxes of More’s life: how More was friends with Catholics yet
opposed granting Catholics equal political rights, and how More was
criticized by conservatives because they feared that her ideas could
encourage revolution or upset the social order, and yet More herself
held many traditional and conservative ideas.
Prior places More’s work within its historical context. She explains
More’s opposition to cruelty towards animals within the context of the
chain-of-being concept, Christianity, and also Rene Descartes’ belief in
the previous century that animals were merely machines that served
humans, who should disregard animals’ feelings. Prior also talks about
the world of writing and publishing at that time. Of particular
interest to me was the criticism of novels by More’s friend Samuel
Johnson, who believed that novels undermined morality by encouraging
readers to identify with characters in their flaws. More would come to
see Johnson’s point, but she still believed in the power of story to
promote moral behavior. Prior also explores More’s religious beliefs:
More was devoted to the Church of England, yet she disagreed with the
Church of England in certain areas, and the view that she was too cozy
with evangelicals threatened some of her projects because the Church of
England could choose not to support them if they believed that to be the
case.
Dr. Prior teaches English at Liberty University, a college founded by
the late Jerry Falwell. I do not know what Prior’s political beliefs
are, but Jerry Falwell was politically conservative, and Liberty
University has a reputation for being that, too. That said, there were
times when I wondered if Prior’s narration reflected a politically
conservative viewpoint. Prior does mention some things that probably
would not resonate with many American conservatives: my impression is
that American conservatives largely approve of the American Revolution,
whereas Prior narrates that More was part of a movement that did not
care for it, and that even criticized American revolutionaries who
supported the slavery of African-Americans while championing freedom for
the colonies. Yet, Prior also talks about More’s attempts through
stories to promote thrift and morality among the poor, and Prior on page
225 talks about the effectiveness of More’s tracts. In the United
States today, there are conservatives who attribute poverty to bad
behavior on the part of the poor, whereas progressive voices note that
there are many poor people in the United States who work hard and try to
be thrifty with what they have. I do not know to what extent
eighteenth century English poverty resembled twenty-first century
American poverty, but I wondered if Prior’s narration was reflecting a
conservative view on poverty. On the other hand, Prior on pages 181-182
does appear to criticize mildly William Wilberforce for not adequately
addressing factory conditions in England. Prior explains why
Wilberforce believed as he did—-Wilberforce supported the free market
and mass production—-yet Prior seems to question whether what
Wilberforce did to improve factory conditions was sufficient. That may
indicate that Prior is not a supporter of complete laissez-faire
economics.
I should also note that Prior has worked with the Humane Society,
which stands against cruelty towards animals, and I applaud her for
that.
There were also times when I thought that Prior might be bending over
backwards to give More the benefit of a doubt. For example, More
mentored a poor poet, Ann Yearsley, but More chose not to give Yearsley
control of Yearsley’s fund, resulting in a lawsuit. Prior can
understand the Yearsley’s point-of-view, yet Prior also says that the
poet’s “earnings came as a result of More’s skillful promotion and
management of Yearsley’s work” (page 79). Personally, I did not find
that incident to be one of More’s shining moments! While Prior did seem
to me to be sympathetic towards More, however, Prior’s book is not a
whitewash, for it does talk about More’s weaknesses, such as More’s
tendency to ingratiate herself towards people in higher social classes.
I found Prior’s remarks in the Epilogue to be beautiful: “Somewhere
between Birrell’s hatred and Roberts’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” (page 253).
I received a complimentary review copy of this remarkable biography through the BookLook Bloggers (http://booklookbloggers.com/)
book review bloggers program. The program does not require for my
review to be positive, and my review reflects my honest reaction to the
book.