Hannah More (1745–1833)
Author of Grace to the Humble
About the Author
Image credit: Undated print (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Reproduction number: LC-USZ62-30514)
Works by Hannah More
The Spirit of Prayer: Selected and Compiled by the Author from Various Portions of Her Works Exclusively on That Subject (1986) 7 copies
Stories for the Young Or, Cheap Repository Tracts: Entertaining, Moral, and Religious. Vol. VI. (2012) 4 copies
Christian morals 3 copies
Works 2 copies
Search after happiness : a pastoral drama ; and, Armine and Elvira : a legendary tale in two parts 2 copies
The Complete Hannah More Volume 1: Essays on Various Subjects - Principally Designed for Young Ladies (2021) 2 copies
The works of Hannah More : in eight volumes : including several pieces never before published 2 copies
The happy waterman 1 copy
Stories for young people 1 copy
Poems 1 copy
Letters of Hannah More to Zachary Macaulay, esq., containing notices of Lord Macaulay's youth. Now first published. (2011) 1 copy
Tales & Allegories 1 copy
Moral sketches of prevailing opinions & manners, foreign & domestic: w/ reflections on prayer 1 copy
Tales for Young People 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Chip, Will
- Birthdate
- 1745-02-02
- Date of death
- 1833-09-07
- Gender
- female
- Education
- at home
- Occupations
- teacher
writer
philanthropist
dramatist
essayist - Organizations
- Bluestocking Society
- Relationships
- Charlotte Elizabeth (friend)
- Short biography
- Hannah More was educated by her father Jacob More, a teacher, and was noted for her knowledge of mathematics and several languages, including French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin. In 1773-74, she moved to London, where she wrote several extremely successful plays. She was a member of the literary and intellectual circle of women known as the bluestockings, and her works were much admired by Horace Walpole. Her best known poem "Bas Bleu" (1786) concerned her literary coterie. Hannah More later became a religious Evangelical and an abolitionist, and turned to producing moral tracts such as Village Politics by Will Chip (1793) and the series Cheap Repository Tracts (1795–1798).
- Nationality
- England
UK - Birthplace
- Stapleton, Gloucestershire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
Wrington, Somerset, England - Place of death
- Clifton, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, UK
- Burial location
- All Saints' Church, Wrington, North Somerset, England
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
A fairly intellectual work that still reads crisply--More dismisses Classical authors (the Stoics prominent) whose work was deployed in the 18th century to justify or manage perceptions of slavery, and hammers at the hypocrisy of denying Africans what was contemporaneously being constructed as the core virtue of British national identity, freedom. She does it by chiding everybody for making Christianity look bad, but still, this is a principled effort and a decent poem-polemic.
An interesting short story (tract) from the 1790s about a girl of St. Giles led into extortion by an unscrupulous woman and saved by a holy one. Obviously didactic but it does shares a genuinely moving message of the importance of charity and the moral potential of the poor/working class while not look down upon them (despite the author's conservatism). Hannah More's work isn't groundbreaking, but the work is a nice window into the every-day material and linguistic texture of the past.
"A show more barrow-woman, blessed be God and our good laws, is as much her own mistress on Sundays as a duchess." show less
"A show more barrow-woman, blessed be God and our good laws, is as much her own mistress on Sundays as a duchess." show less
I read this book as part of my research toward writing a YA novel set in Regency England. "Coelebs" was a big seller in its time -- Austen certainly read it -- but there's a reason it's more read about than read these days. I give it three stars because it did what it set out to do and I'm not sorry I read it. That said, if you've already read everything Austen wrote and you want something else authentically Regency, I would recommend grabbing something by Fanny Burney rather than Hannah show more More.
Technically, it's a novel. Really, it's Hannah More using characters to explain her beliefs about women's education and Christianity. I'm interested in both those topics, but even I felt my eyes glazing over now and then. I did like the bits that debated the importance of whether human souls are saved by grace or deeds. More thinks both are necessary. As someone raised Catholic and now a hopeless heathen, I had no problem with this, but apparently it was a rather shocking idea in 18th-century England.
Hannah More was a fascinating woman -- if there isn't a full-length biography of her yet, I'd love to write it someday. She was one of five daughters, and learned Latin and mathematics as part of her thorough education. This was unusual for girls at the time. They might learn French or Italian in order to sound elegant at parties (or to have under their belts in case they needed to become governesses), but Latin and Greek were generally reserved for boys. Hannah's father was a schoolmaster, and had no sons. He educated his daughters, and they all became educators as well.
Hannah taught for a time and from a young age, but she loved writing. She also fell very much in love with a man who eventually jilted her. Perhaps he was worried about her family pressing suit for breach of contract -- this really could happen in 18th-century England if a man broke off an engagement -- or perhaps he felt guilty about the nervous breakdown she had as a result of his being such a cad. At any rate, he gave her an annuity of 200 pounds a year, which was enough to allow her to give up teaching and dedicate herself to literary pursuits. (Which sounds like a good deal to *me.*)
Hannah More was a playwright, novelist, and moralist (I don't know how else to describe the fact that she wrote lots of books about how to be pious and good). She also felt strongly about educating women and the poor, and gave money and time to both pursuits. She lived a long and apparently happy life, and there's still at least one school named after her in England. show less
Technically, it's a novel. Really, it's Hannah More using characters to explain her beliefs about women's education and Christianity. I'm interested in both those topics, but even I felt my eyes glazing over now and then. I did like the bits that debated the importance of whether human souls are saved by grace or deeds. More thinks both are necessary. As someone raised Catholic and now a hopeless heathen, I had no problem with this, but apparently it was a rather shocking idea in 18th-century England.
Hannah More was a fascinating woman -- if there isn't a full-length biography of her yet, I'd love to write it someday. She was one of five daughters, and learned Latin and mathematics as part of her thorough education. This was unusual for girls at the time. They might learn French or Italian in order to sound elegant at parties (or to have under their belts in case they needed to become governesses), but Latin and Greek were generally reserved for boys. Hannah's father was a schoolmaster, and had no sons. He educated his daughters, and they all became educators as well.
Hannah taught for a time and from a young age, but she loved writing. She also fell very much in love with a man who eventually jilted her. Perhaps he was worried about her family pressing suit for breach of contract -- this really could happen in 18th-century England if a man broke off an engagement -- or perhaps he felt guilty about the nervous breakdown she had as a result of his being such a cad. At any rate, he gave her an annuity of 200 pounds a year, which was enough to allow her to give up teaching and dedicate herself to literary pursuits. (Which sounds like a good deal to *me.*)
Hannah More was a playwright, novelist, and moralist (I don't know how else to describe the fact that she wrote lots of books about how to be pious and good). She also felt strongly about educating women and the poor, and gave money and time to both pursuits. She lived a long and apparently happy life, and there's still at least one school named after her in England. show less
This book has two classics for boys. One of them tells of a young man's growth in character, becoming a well-respected farmer in his community, and a good example to all those around him; and the other tells of the experiences of a young man who learns the importance of honoring and serving his employer well and how good character will require avoiding evil companions.
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Statistics
- Works
- 70
- Also by
- 7
- Members
- 338
- Popularity
- #70,453
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 9
- ISBNs
- 57