Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet and playwright in the circle of

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Reynolds Reynolds may refer to: Places Australia *Hundred of Reynolds, a cadastral unit in South Australia *Hundred of Reynolds (Northern Territory), a cadastral unit in the Northern Territory of Australia United States * Reynolds, Mendocino County, Calif ...

and

Garrick Garrick may refer to: * Garrick (name), for the name's origin and people with either the surname or given name, the most famous being: ** David Garrick (1717–1779), English actor * Garrick Club, a London gentlemen's club named in honour of David ...

, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, she taught at a school her father founded there and began writing plays. She became involved in the London literary elite and a leading

Bluestocking ''Bluestocking'' is a term for an educated, intellectual woman, originally a member of the 18th-century Blue Stockings Society from England led by the hostess and critic Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), the "Queen of the Blues", including Eliz ...

member. Her later plays and poetry became more evangelical. She joined a group opposing the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. In the 1790s she wrote Cheap Repository Tracts on moral, religious and political topics, to distribute to the literate poor (as a retort to

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

Rights of Man ''Rights of Man'' (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the ...

). Meanwhile, she broadened her links with schools she and her sister Martha had founded in rural

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. These curbed their teaching of the poor, allowing limited reading but no writing. More was noted for her political conservatism, being described as an anti-feminist, a "counter-revolutionary", or a

conservative feminist Some variants of feminism are considered more conservative than others. Historically feminist scholars tend to not have much interest in conservative women but in recent years there have been efforts at greater scholarly analysis of these women ...

Early life

Born in 1745 at

Fishponds Fishponds is a large suburb in the north-east of the English city of Bristol, about from the city centre. It has two large Victorian-era parks: Eastville Park and Vassall's Park (once the Vassall Family estate, also known as Oldbury Court). T ...

in the parish of Stapleton, near

, Hannah More was the fourth of five daughters of Jacob More (1700–1783),Crossley Evans, MJ, ''Hannah More'', University of Bristol (Bristol branch of the Historical Association, 1999. a schoolmaster from a strong

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

family in

Harleston, Norfolk Harleston is a town from Norwich, in the civil parish of Redenhall with Harleston, in the South Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 5067. Harleston is on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, clo ...

, who had joined the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. He sought to pursue a clerical career, but after losing a lawsuit over an estate he had hoped to inherit he moved to Bristol, where he became an

excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

officer and later taught at the Fishponds free school. The sisters were first educated by their father, learning

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and mathematics. Hannah was also taught by elder sisters, through whom she learned French, which she improved conversationally by spending time with French prisoners of war in

Frenchay Frenchay is a village in the County of South Gloucestershire, England, and the Civil Parish of Winterbourne. It is on the outskirts to the north east of the city of Bristol. Frenchay was first recorded in 1257 as ''Fromscawe'' and later as '' ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. She was an assiduous, discerning student. Family tradition has it that she began writing at an early age. In 1758 Jacob established a girls'

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

at Trinity Street, Bristol, for the elder sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, to run, while he and his wife moved to Stony Hill in the city to open a school for boys. Hannah More became a pupil in the girls' school when she was twelve and taught there in early adulthood. In 1767 More gave up her share in the school on becoming engaged to William Turner of the Belmont Estate,

Wraxall, Somerset Wraxall is a village in North Somerset, England, about west of Bristol. Until 1811 the parish of the same name also included Nailsea and Flax Bourton. The village is now within the parish of Wraxall and Failand. History The origin of the name ...

, whom she had met when he began teaching her cousins. After six years the wedding had not taken place. Turner seemed reluctant to name a date and in 1773 the engagement was broken off. It seems this led More into a nervous breakdown, from which she recuperated in

Uphill Uphill is a village in the civil parish of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England, at the southern edge of the town, on the Bristol Channel coast. History Bone and stone tools found in caves at Uphill provide evidence of human activity i ...

, near

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

. She was induced to accept a £200

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...

from Turner as compensation. This freed her for literary pursuits. In the winter of 1773–1774 she went to London with her sisters, Sarah and Martha – the first of many such trips at yearly intervals. Some verses she had written on David Garrick's version of ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' led to an acquaintance with him. She later moved to Bath where she stayed between 1792–1802 on

Great Pulteney Street Great Pulteney Street is a grand thoroughfare that connects Bathwick on the east of the River Avon with the City of Bath, England via the Robert Adam designed Pulteney Bridge. Viewed from the city side of the bridge the road leads directly to t ...

Playwright

More's first literary efforts were pastoral plays written while she was still teaching and suitable for young ladies to act. The first was ''The Search after Happiness'', written in 1762. By the mid-1780s over 10,000 copies of this had been sold. Among her literary models was

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

, on whose opera ''Attilio Regulo'' she based a drama, ''The Inflexible Captive''. Bluestockings3

In London, More sought to associate with the literary elite, including

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

and

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. Johnson is quoted as scolding her: "Madam, before you flatter a man so grossly to his face, you should consider whether or not your flattery is worth having." He would later be quoted as calling her "the finest versifatrix in the English language". Meanwhile, she became prominent in the

group of women engaged in polite conversation and literary and intellectual pursuits. She attended the salon of

Elizabeth Montagu Elizabeth Montagu (née Robinson; 2 October 1718 – 25 August 1800) was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonnière, literary critic and writer, who helped to organize and lead the Blue Stockings Society. Her parents were both ...

, where she met

Frances Boscawen Frances Evelyn "Fanny" Boscawen (née Glanville) (23 July 1719 – 26 February 1805) was an English literary hostess, correspondent and member of the Blue Stockings Society. She was born Frances Evelyn Glanville on 23 July 1719 at St Clere, Kemsi ...

Elizabeth Carter Elizabeth Carter (pen name Eliza; 16 December 1717 – 19 February 1806) was an English poet, classicist, writer, translator, linguist, and polymath. As one of the Bluestocking Circle that surrounded Elizabeth Montagu,Encyclopaedia BritannicRet ...

Elizabeth Vesey Elizabeth Vesey (1715 in Ossory, Ireland – 1791 in Chelsea, London) was a wealthy Irish intellectual who is credited with fostering the Bluestockings, a society which hosted informal literary and political discussions of which she was an im ...

and

Hester Chapone Hester Chapone ''née'' Mulso (27 October 1727, Twywell, Northamptonshire – 25 December 1801, Hadwell, Middlesex), was an English writer of conduct books for women. She became associated with the London Bluestockings. Life Hester, the daugh ...

, some of whom would be lifelong friends. In 1782 she wrote a witty verse celebration of her friends and circle: ''The Bas Bleu, or, Conversation'', published in 1784. Garrick wrote a prologue and epilogue to Hannah More's tragedy ''

Percy The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

'', which was successful at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in December 1777 and revived in 1785 with

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of John ...

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

. A copy of ''Percy'' was found among

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's possessions in 1791. Another drama, ''The Fatal Falsehood'', produced in 1779 after Garrick's death, was less successful and she stopped writing for the stage. However, a tragedy entitled ''The Inflexible Captive'' appeared in 1818. In 1781 she met

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

and corresponded with him. At Bristol she discovered the poet

Ann Yearsley Ann Yearsley, née Cromartie (8 July 1753 – 6 May 1806), also known as Lactilla, was an English poet and writer from the labouring class, in Bristol. The poet Robert Southey wrote a biography of her. Personal life Born in Bristol to John and ...

. When Yearsley became destitute, More raised a considerable sum of money for her benefit. Lactilla, as Yearsley was known, published ''Poems, on Several Occasions'' in 1785, earning about £600. More and Montagu held the profits in trust to protect them from Yearsley's husband. However, Ann Yearsley wished to receive the capital and made insinuations of stealing against More, forcing her to release it. These literary and social failures prompted More's withdrawal from London intellectual circles.

Evangelical moralist

In the 1780s Hannah More became a friend of

James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...

, who had long been concerned with

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

as a moral issue and who was working with

Granville Sharp Granville Sharp (10 November 1735 – 6 July 1813) was one of the first British campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle black ...

as an early abolitionist. More published ''Sacred Dramas'' in 1782, which rapidly ran through 19 editions. These and the poems ''Bas-Bleu'' and ''Florio'' (1786) mark a gradual transition to graver views, expressed in prose in ''Thoughts on the Importance of the Manners of the Great to General Society'' (1788) and ''An Estimate of the Religion of the Fashionable World'' (1790). By this time she was close to

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

and

Zachary Macaulay Zachary Macaulay ( gd, Sgàire MacAmhlaoibh; 2 May 1768 – 13 May 1838) was a Scottish statistician and abolitionist who was a founder of London University and of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, and a Governor of British Sierra Leone ...

, sympathising with their evangelical views. Her poem ''Slavery'' appeared in 1788. For many years she was a friend of

Beilby Porteus Beilby Porteus (or Porteous; 8 May 1731 – 13 May 1809), successively Bishop of Chester and of London, was a Church of England reformer and a leading abolitionist in England. He was the first Anglican in a position of authority to seriously c ...

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and a leading

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, who drew her into a group of anti-slave traders that included Wilberforce, Charles Middleton and also James Ramsay at

Teston Teston /ˈtiːstən/ The Place Names of Kent,Judith Glover,1976,Batsford. or /ˈtiːsən/ BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names — is a village in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It is located on the A26 road out of Maidston ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. In 1785 More bought a house at Cowslip Green, near Wrington in northern

, where she settled with her sister Martha and wrote several ethical books and tracts: ''Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education'' (1799), ''Hints towards Forming the Character of a Young Princess'' (1805), ''

Coelebs in Search of a Wife ''Coelebs in Search of a Wife'' (1809) is a novel by the British Christian moralist Hannah More. It was followed by ''Coelebs Married'' in 1814. It is sometimes known by the title ''Coelebs in Search of a Wife: Commprehending Observations on Domes ...

'' (only nominally a story, 1809), ''Practical Piety'' (1811), ''Christian Morals'' (1813), ''Character of St Paul'' (1815) and ''Moral Sketches'' (1819). She was a rapid writer. Her work, though discursive and animated, was deficient in form. Her popularity may be explained by her originality and forceful subject-matter. The outbreak of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

in 1789 did not worry More initially, but by 1790 she was writing, "I have conceived an utter aversion to liberty according to the present idea of it in France. What a cruel people they are!" She praised

's ''

Reflections on the Revolution in France ''Reflections on the Revolution in France'' is a political pamphlet written by the Irish statesman Edmund Burke and published in November 1790. It is fundamentally a contrast of the French Revolution to that time with the unwritten British Const ...

'' for combining "the rhetoric of ancient Gaul" and the "patriot spirit of ancient Rome" with "the deepest political sagacity". Part II of the ''

'',

's reply to Burke, appeared in 1792. The government was alarmed by its concern for the poor and call for world revolution, coupled with huge sales. Porteus visited More and asked her to write something for the lower orders to counteract Paine. This prompted a pamphlet, ''Village Politics'' (1792). More called it "as vulgar as heheart can wish; but it is only designed for the most vulgar class of readers."Jones, p. 134. The pamphlet (published pseudonymously as by "Will Chip") consists of a dialogue in plain English between Jack Anvil, a village blacksmith, and Tom Hood, a village mason. After reading Paine, Tom Hood expresses admiration for the French Revolution to Jack Anvil and speaks in favour of a new constitution based on liberty and the "rights of man". Jack Anvil responds by praising the British constitution, saying Britain already has "the best laws in the world". He attacks French liberty as murder, French democracy as tyranny of the majority, French equality as a levelling down of social classes, French philosophy as

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

, and the "rights of man" as "battle, murder and sudden death". Tom Hood finally accepts Anvil's conclusion: "While old England is safe I'll glory in her, and pray for her; and when she is in danger I'll fight for her and die for her." More's biographer summed up the pamphlet against Paine as "Burke for Beginners". It was well received: Porteus called it "a masterpiece of its kind, supremely excellent, greatly admired at

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

thought it exceeded

William Paley William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work ''Natural T ...

's ''The British Public's Reasons for Contentment'' and

Richard Owen Cambridge Richard Owen Cambridge (14 February 1717 – 17 September 1802) was a British poet. Life Cambridge was born in London. He was educated at Eton and at St John's College, Oxford. Leaving the university without taking a degree, he took up residen ...

claimed "

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

could not have done it better." More's next anti-Jacobin tract, ''Remarks on the Speech of M. Dupont'', condemned atheism in France. Its profits were passed to French Catholic priests exiled in England.Jones, p. 137. The two pamphlets attracted praise from the Association for the Discountenancing of Vice, an evangelical publishing society founded in Dublin in 1792. The membership wrote to her in June 1793 congratulating her on it and inviting her to become an honorary member. Accepting, More asked the Association to send her "two or three printed papers explaining the nature of the Association as perhaps I may use them to advantage with a friend or two, distinguished for their piety and active zeal."

Cheap Repository Tracts

In 1794, when Paine published ''

The Age of Reason ''The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology'' is a work by English and American political activist Thomas Paine, arguing for the philosophical position of deism. It follows in the tradition of 18th-century Briti ...

'', a

deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

attack on Christianity, Porteus again requested More's help in combating Paine's ideas, but she declined, being preoccupied with her charity-school work. However, by the end of the year, More, encouraged by Porteus, decided to embark on a series of Cheap Repository Tracts, three of which appeared every month from 1795 to 1798. In January 1795, More explained to Zachary Macaulay: "Vulgar and indecent penny books were always common, but speculative infidelity brought down to the pockets and capacity of the poor forms a new era in our history. This requires strong counteraction." Her scheme developed from the ideas of the Association for discountenancing vice, though written in a more "readable and entertaining a style". The tracts sold 300,000 copies in March and April 1795, 700,000 by July 1795 and over two million by March 1796. They urged the poor in rhetoric of ingenious homeliness to rely on virtues of contentment, sobriety, humility, industry, reverence for the British Constitution, hatred of the French, and trust in God and the kindness of the

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

. Perhaps the most famous is ''The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain'', describing a family of phenomenal frugality and contentment. This was translated into several languages. She also invited the Association for the Discountenancing of Vice to reprint her tracts in Ireland, which they did with success in more than 230 editions of 52 titles. Hannahmoreblueplaque

More was shocked by the strides made for female education in France: "They run to study philosophy, and neglect their families to be present at lectures in anatomy."

Views on schooling for poor and for girls

Intending "to escape from the world gradually", More moved in 1802 to Wrington in rural

, where she had built a comfortable house and laid out a garden. She remained, however, active with several Somerset schools for the destitute that she and her sister Martha had founded from the 1780s, with Wilberforce's encouragement. She modelled the idealised hero and heroine in ''Coelebs in Search of Wife'' (1809) on the schools' prodigious benefactors: John and Louisa Harford of

Blaise Castle Blaise Castle is a folly built in 1766 near Henbury in Bristol, England. The castle sits within the Blaise Castle Estate, which also includes Blaise Castle House, a Grade II* listed 18th-century mansion house. The folly castle is also Grade I ...

. The schools taught the Bible and the catechism on Sundays and in the week "such coarse works as may fit them for servants." For the poor, More declared, "I allow of no writing": they were not to be "made scholars and philosophers." There was local opposition:

vicars suspected her of advancing

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

and landowners saw even rudimentary literacy as a step above the children's proper station. At

Wedmore Wedmore is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue, often called the Isle of Wedmore. It forms part of Sedgemoor district. ...

, the

Dean of Wells The Dean of Wells is the head of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The dean's residence is The Dean's Lodging, 25 The Liberty, Wells. List of deans High Medieval *1140–1164: Ivo *1164–1189: Rich ...

was petitioned to have More removed from the school. To the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

she protested that her schools taught only "such coarse works as may fit them heir chargesfor servants. I allow no writing for the poor. My object is... to train up the lower classes in habits of industry and piety." More refused to read

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...

's ''Vindication of the Rights of Women'' (1792). While many women may be "fond of government", they are not, she believed, "fit for it": "To be unstable and capricious is but too characteristic of our sex." More turned down honorary membership of the Royal Society of Literature, seeing her "sex alone a disqualification". Those heeding Wollstonecraft's call to embrace the liberty without which women could "neither possess virtue or happiness" or reading with equal ardour the pedagogy of

Anna Laetitia Barbauld Anna Laetitia Barbauld (, by herself possibly , as in French, Aikin; 20 June 1743 – 9 March 1825) was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and author of children's literature. A " woman of letters" who published in mu ...

and Elizabeth Hamilton saw More much as Wollstonecraft had seen Burke in her earlier ''Vindication of the Rights of Man'' (1790): as a writer with a "mortal antipathy to reason". Having met Hannah More and her sisters in Bath and discussed their schools and other good works,

Jane Greg Jane "Jenny" Greg (1749 - 1817) in the 1790s was an Irish republican agitator with connections to radical political circles in England. Although the extent of her activities are unclear, in suppressing the Society of United Irishmen the British c ...

reported to a friend,

Martha McTier Martha "Matty" McTier (''c.'' 1742 – 3 October 1837) was an advocate for women's health and education, and a supporter of democratic reform, whose correspondence with her brother William Drennan and other leading Society of United Irishmen, Uni ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, that she found their "minds crippled in an astonishing degree". McTier was proud that in her school for poor girls her pupils "do not gabble over the testament only" and that she had those who "can read

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and Pitt". More in 1820 donated money to

Philander Chase Philander Chase (December 14, 1775 – September 20, 1852) was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier, especially in Ohio and Illinois. Early life and family Born in Cornish, New Hampshire to o ...

, the first Episcopal Bishop of Ohio for the foundation there of

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...

. A portrait of More hangs in its Peirce Hall.

Last years

In Hannah More's last years, philanthropists from all parts made pilgrimages to Wrington, and after 1828 to

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

, where she died on 7 September 1833. More left about £30,000, chiefly in legacies to charitable institutions and religious societies. The residue was to go to a new Church of St Philip and St Jacob in Bristol. She was buried beside her sisters at the

Church of All Saints, Wrington The Church of All Saints is the Church of England parish church for the large village of Wrington, Somerset, England. There has been a church here since the 13th century, though much of the present building dates from the 15th century. Historic E ...

, which has a bust of her in the south porch, beside one of the local son

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

Legacy

Several local schools and St. Michael's Church (Reisterstown, Maryland) are named after More. Hannah More Primary School was built in Bristol Old Market in the 1840s. Her image appeared in 2012 on the Bristol Pound, a local currency. The street in Wrington where she was buried has been named Hannah More Close. However, the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician

Augustine Birrell Augustine Birrell KC (19 January 185020 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for exte ...

, in his 1906 work ''Hannah More Once More'', claimed to have buried all 19 volumes of Moore's works in his garden in disgust.

Veneration

In 2022, More was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 6 September.

References

Sources

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Resources

Primary sources

*Hannah More, ''Works of Hannah More'', 2 vols. New York: Harper, 1840

Biographies

*Anna Jane Buckland, ''The life of Hannah More. A lady of two centuries''. London: Religious Tract Society, 1882

*Jeremy and Margaret Collingwood, ''Hannah More''. Oxford: Lion Publishing, 1990, *Patricia Demers, ''The World of Hannah More''. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1996, *Charles Howard Ford, ''Hannah More: A Critical Biography''. New York: Peter Lang, 1996, *Marion Harland, ''Hannah More''. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1900 *Mary Alen Hopkins, ''Hannah More and Her Circle''. London: Longmans, 1947 *M. G. Jones, ''Hannah More'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952 *Helen C. Knight, ''Hannah More; or, Life in Hall and Cottage''. New York: M. W. Dodd, 1851 *Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace, ''Their Fathers' Daughters: Hannah More, Maria Edgeworth, and Patriarchal Complicity''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991 *Annette Mary Budgett Meakin, ''Hannah More: A Biographical Study''. London: John Murray, 1919 *Karen Swallow Prior, ''Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist''. Nashville: Nelson Books, 2014, * William Roberts (biographer), William Roberts, ed., ''Memoirs of Mrs Hannah More''. New York: Harper & Bros., 1836 *Anne Stott, ''Hannah More: The First Victorian''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003, *Thomas Taylor, ''Memoir of Mrs. Hannah More''. London: Joseph Rickerby, 1838 *Henry Thompson, ''The Life of Hannah More With Notices of Her Sisters''. London: T. Cadell, 1838 *

Charlotte Yonge Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823–1901) was an English novelist, who wrote in the service of the church. Her abundant books helped to spread the influence of the Oxford Movement and show her keen interest in matters of public health and sanitation. ...

, ''Hannah More''. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1888

Other sources

* * *Jacqueline McMillan, "Hannah More: From Versificatrix to Saint", ''In Her Hand: Letters of Romantic-Era British Women Writers in New Zealand Collections.'' Otago Students of Letters. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago, Department of English, 2013. pp. 23–46. Includes five letters and a poem, hitherto unpublished. *Mitzi Myers, "Hannah More's Tracts for the Times: Social Fiction and Female Ideology", ''Fetter'd or Free? British Women Novelists, 1670–1815''. Mary Anne Schofield and Cecilia Macheski, eds. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1986 * * * * *Mona Scheuerman, ''In Praise of Poverty: Hannah More Counters Thomas Paine and the Radical Threat''. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2002 * *Kathryn Sutherland, "Hannah More's Counter-Revolutionary Feminism", ''Revolution in Writing: British Literary Responses to the French Revolution''. Kelvin Everest, ed. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1991 *
A Comparative Study of Three Anti-Slavery Poems Written by William Blake, Hannah More and Marcus Garvey: Black Stereotyping
by Jérémie Kroubo Dagnini for GRAAT On-Line, January 2010

External links

Hannah More
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
* *
Works by Hannah More
at Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books (

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

) * *
Hannah More from Brycchan Carey's listing of British abolitionists
* The full text of ''Slavery, A Poem'' available online
The full text of ''The Sorrows of Yamba'' available online
* {{DEFAULTSORT:More, Hannah 1745 births 1833 deaths English religious writers British women essayists English philanthropists English Anglicans English abolitionists Evangelical Anglicans Writers from Bristol Clapham Sect English children's writers English dramatists and playwrights British women dramatists and playwrights 18th-century British women writers 18th-century British writers English women non-fiction writers Women religious writers Burials in Somerset 18th-century essayists Anglican writers Christian abolitionists British evangelicals English evangelicals Conservatism in the United Kingdom Anglican saints