The Life of Hannah More and The Sorrows of Yamba

The Life of Hannah More and The Sorrows of Yamba

Hannah More has been called "one of the most prolific and influential authors of her day in England" (Ford ix). This proves to be true upon analyzing her life and accomplishments in the nineteenth century. Hannah More was born in 1745 in Stapleton, Bristol, England (Hopkins xiii). Mary Gladys Jones comments on More's life and gives the description of this literary figure as "a Tory who championed the radical causes of anti-slavery and the education of the poor, a Churchwoman who attended a Dissenting Meeting House [only once] and employed Methodist teachers" (Ford ix-x). The two main political issues that More would write about during the course of her life were anti-slavery issues and the promotion of the education of the poor and women. More herself was educated along with her sisters by her father (Damrosch 100). More and her sisters would later found a successful school which threatened many of her contemporaries. "Local authorities felt threatened by the sisters' assumption of power and were assuaged only by the Mores' manipulation of traditional feminine roles" (Ford xiii). In the curriculum in More's school, she made a conscious effort to "maintain sexual difference and inequality while upgrading or 'masculinizing' the education of women" (xiii).

As a woman, Hannah More was an unusual figure in nineteenth-century England. She was unmarried and very publicly voiced her opinion. After a failed engagement, More sought financial independence (Damrosch 100). More began publishing her works to the general population. Her works were sold cheap, and preachers, missionaries, or landlords handed them out (Damrosch 189). Since More "celebrated the godly, self-disciplined layperson who looked out for the common good" she sold her works very inexpensively (Ford 1). "At a half-penny to one and one-half penny per installment," More's writings became popular amongst the poor in society (128). More had strong political beliefs that explain much of her writing and methods. She had a "long-held belief that aristocratic virtue, whether civic or personal, dictated general morality which, in turn, ensured the soundness of the commonwealth" (xii). Her moral beliefs are directly effected from her religious beliefs. More fought for anti-slavery laws in hopes that "the abolition of the African slave trade and the observance of Sabbatarian laws, among other measures, would preempt similar divine retribution against the British ruling classes" (84).