Hannah More: Making Goodness Fashionable | 1745–1833
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” —Galatians 5:22-23
Biography:
God uses His daughters for unique tasks, as Hannah More’s life illustrates. The toast of 18th century London Society, Hannah More was an acclaimed and accomplished English poet, playwright, and author known for her charming wit and gracious heart. She wielded the unique talents, connections, and social position the Lord gave her to transform pop culture for glory of God, engaging as a leading philanthropist, education champion, and advocate for justice. Known for her efforts to “make goodness fashionable,” More’s life was characterized by her tireless advocacy for social change, particularly in her work with the abolition movement, the founding of Sunday Schools, and her impactful writing that sought to instill moral virtue and Christian values in society.
Hannah More was born in 1745, in Fishponds, near Bristol, England. Raised in a devout Anglican household, More was deeply influenced by Christian teachings from an early age. Her father, a schoolmaster, ensured that she received a strong education, and she quickly developed a love for literature and poetry. More’s intellectual abilities, coupled with her Christian faith, set the stage for her future work as both a writer and social reformer.
As she entered adulthood, More became involved in London’s elite literary circles, where she began publishing plays, poems, and essays. David Garrick, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Lady Montagu, Horace Walpole, Sir Joshua Reynold, Sir Edmund Burke, and many others from the “Bluestocking Circle.” Much of More’s writing was for artistic and recreational purposes, but she did not shy away from the heaviest topics of the day. When Thomas Paine published The Rights of Man extolling the so-called virtues of violent revolution (at a time when England was on the precipice of a revolution like France’s), More write a brilliant (and equally popular) rebuttal called Village Politics. The impact of More’s political writing cannot be overlooked. As author Marc Baer wrote, “it can be argued that no one played a more important role in preventing revolution in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Britain than did Hannah More.” As Hannah matured as a woman and writer, her faith in Jesus Christ also matured. As she put it, she slowly experienced “a turning of the whole mind to God,” and faith became the driving force behind much of her later literary work.
As More’s approach to writing became increasingly focused on her faith, she sought to make Christian virtues—such as charity, piety, humility, and moral integrity—attractive and appealing to broad audiences that spanned social classes. Her most famous work, Coelebs in Search of a Wife (1809), was a didactic novel that emphasized the importance of marrying for character and faith rather than wealth or status. The novel was hugely popular and helped to shape attitudes toward marriage and morality in 19th-century England. More’s other works, including Practical Piety (1811) and The Cheap Repository Tracts (1795), were written to promote Christian values in the lives of ordinary people, employing simple moral lessons in the form of short stories or dialogues. These publications were sold at affordable prices, ensuring they reached a wide audience, and they became some of the most widely distributed pamphlets in England at the time. Her works were so popular that during her lifetime, she outsold other female authors including Jane Austen by a factor of 10 to 1.
As her faith grew deeper, More also became closely associated with William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect, a group of Christian social reformers who were dedicated to the abolition of slavery and the reformation of manners (i.e. improving the moral fabric of society). Together, this group of Jesus-followers worked to eradicate the greatest injustices of their time, including the slave trade, the poor treatment of the working classes, and educational inequality. William Wilberforce, the prominent abolitionist, prominently lead the fight in parliament, while More led the fight in the popular culture of day, infiltrating London’s elite social circles and widely influencing the entertainment culture of her day through her plays and other writing. To raise awareness for these causes, More authored pamphlets and essays reflecting her Christian commitment to transforming society through abolition, education, charity, and virtuous living. More was instrumental in rallying public opinion against the slave trade. She leveraged her own popularity as an acclaimed author to shape a national moral conscience based on Biblical truth and worked tirelessly to “make goodness fashionable.”
Hannah was more than just a trendsetter though; she was quick to roll up her sleeves and personally engage in labor that transformed lives. Deeply concerned about the moral and educational welfare of the poor, she became a passionate advocate for education for all children, especially those in the working class. During her era, it was common for middle-lower class children to work 12-14 hour days in factories, mines, and other hard labor industries, six days a week. Most of the population was illiterate, were often taken advantage of, and had no opportunity for other work. So Hannah decided to do something—she stared Sunday Schools. Unlike American Sunday schools of this time that focused strictly on spiritual formation, Hannah More’s Sunday schools taught children to read, write, do arithmetic, and other academic skills necessary to improve their station in life—all by using the Bible as the primary textbook. She and her sisters founded 16 schools across England in under a decade, bringing literacy to the poorest children and even developing an adult education program that was used into the twentieth century. The education she provided opened doors to better lives for tens of thousands of people. As children learned academics, they also learned Christian character, and within a decade, a noticeable difference could be observed in the fabric of English society as a new generation of virtuous citizens found their place in the world. Crime rates and violence decreased, families became healthier, and the national economy grew. Success beget success, and her Sunday schools spread across England as others adopted her model. Hannah taught and worked in these schools for next 30 years, wrote textbooks, planned lessons, and championed the cause of education for all people until her health prevented her from continuing this vital ministry.
At the age of eighty-seven, after years of declining health, Hannah More died in Clifton in the care of close friends on September 7, 1833. Just weeks before her death, she learned that her life’s work of abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire had succeeded, with a final vote in parliament. She had the privilege of seeing thousands of men and women walk in freedom, in part because of her tireless faithfulness to the Lord’s call on her life. As she went home to be with her Savior, the last word she exclaimed was: “Joy!”
Lessons from Hannah More’s Life:
Hannah More’s legacy is arguably one of the most profound in the history of Christian women. More’s ability to “make goodness fashionable” was not simply about promoting virtue; it was about embedding moral values in the hearts and minds of individuals. Many societal values that we now take for granted are commonplace 200 years after More’s lifetime because her work to instill a Biblical social conscience in society was so successful. Children now go to school, rather than toiling 14 hours a day, six days a week in inhumane conditions. Free public education is commonplace across multiple nations and her pioneering adult education programs spanned continents. Her writings and advocacy for the education of women influenced generations of leaders, shaping opportunity for hundreds of millions of women who came after her. Her work with William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect successfully ended slavery in her lifetime and continue to inspire and inform social engagement models for modern Christians fighting to defend the dignity and worth of all people created in the image of God. More’s life and work exemplified the transformative power of Christian faith put into action.
Hannah More surrendered every ounce of her talent, position, and resources to the Lord—and she changed the world. She took her faith out in the public square and shared the hope of Jesus with everyone around her. All that she did, she did with feminine grace, endearing wit, and winsome charm, as only a daughter of the Most High could. As Christians today, we need a new generation with the vision of Hannah More and William Wilberforce, dedicated to taking the heart of Jesus to the culture and eradicating the evils of our time. We nee to transform the world around us with the Fruit of the Spirit and “make goodness fashionable” again.
Hannah More in Her Own Words:
“The best defense of Christianity is the life we live.”
“If faith produces no works, I see That faith is not a living tree. Thus faith and woks together grow, No separate life they never can know. They’re soul and body, hand and heart. What God hath joined, let no man part.”
“It should be held as an eternal truth, that which is morally wrong can never be politically right.”
“Live your life in such a way that when others see you, they see the reflection of goodness and love.”
“The misfortune is, that religious learning is too often rather considered as an act of the memory than of the heart and affections; as a dry duty, rather than a lively pleasure.”
“The power of education lies not in the amount of knowledge acquired, but in the application of that knowledge to improve oneself and society.”
“We are apt to mistake our vocation by looking out of the way for occasions to exercise great and rare virtues, and by stepping over the ordinary ones that lie directly in the road before us.”
“True charity does not wait for applause or recognition, but quietly goes about its work, seeking only the betterment of others.”
“Genius without religion is only a lamp on the outer gate of a palace; it may serve to cast a gleam of light on those that are without, while the inhabitant sits in darkness.”
“Prayer is not eloquence, but earnestness; not the definition of helplessness, but the feeling of it; not figures of speech, but earnestness of soul.”
“Forgiveness is the economy of the heart… forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”
“Love never reasons, but profusely gives; it gives like a thoughtless prodigal its all, and then trembles least it has done to little…”
“No man ever repented of being a Christian on his death bed.”
“Do not be discouraged by the darkness around you, for even a small candle can drive away the deepest shadows.”
What Others Said of Hannah More:
[To Hannah]: “You have great gifts; now believe in the Giver of the gifts and do the work of that righteous Judge in the public sphere.” —John Newton, Pastor who penned “Amazing Grace”
“What William Wilberforce was among men, Hannah More was among women.” —The Christian Observer, 1833
Sources
7 Women by Eric Metaxas
Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More by Karen Swallow Prior
Mere Believers by Marc Baer
Hannah More: A Radical for God by Bernard Deacon
The Clapham Sect and Evangelical Social Reform by Norman G. Wright
Making Goodness Fashionable: Hannah More’s Christian Social Reform by A. S. Millard
“Hannah More: Guided by Christian Convictions” by Melissa Penner, Stand to Reason, https://www.str.org/w/hannah-more-guided-by-christian-convictions
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