William Wilberforce: A Biography (Paperback)

by Stephen Tomkins (Author)
Key Phrases: proclamation society, abolition motion, abolition committee, William Wilberforce, House of Commons, Sierra Leone (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
The great English parliamentary crusader against slavery is a hard biographical subject nowadays, for as Tomkins acknowledges and indeed stresses, despite his abolitionism, Wilberforce (1759–1833) is hardly a model progressive forefather. His other enthusiasms—improving morals and Christian missionary work—amount, by twenty-first-century lights, to censorship (by very punitive measures, including imprisoning and fining poor printers) and cultural colonization. He was antiwar, to be sure, but to keep England safe, he approved the kinds of tactics—suspension of habeas corpus, preemptive military strikes—that today's peaceniks abhor. He exhausted his fortune and advocated laws to improve the lot of poor working people, but he also sought to make trade unions illegal. Loyal to his friends, supportive of his family, humbly self-critical, incorruptible, and implacably abolitionist throughout a nearly half-century-long career, he was a very good man. But he was of his time and station, therefore unacceptably paternalistic to us. Tomkins is never unfair to him, but his distaste shows in far more labored and less fluent writing than distinguishes his John Wesley (2003). Still, prefer this to Kevin Belmonte's less balanced, no better written Hero for Humanity (2002). Olson, Ray

Product Description
In the 1780s, around 40,000 slaves a year were taken from Africa in British ships, on the notorious "Middle Passage," to the Caribbean. In 1787, under an oak tree in Kent, the British Prime Minister, William Pitt, invited his friend William Wilberforce to introduce a parliamentary bill outlawing the slave trade. Neither of them imagined a twenty-year political campaign that would consume the rest of Wilberforce's life.

Born in Hull, England, to wealthy middle-class parents, Wilberforce entered Parliament and became a political celebrity in his day. After undergoing a profound Christian conversion, he set out on a path of service to humanity. Stephen Tomkins charts Wilberforce's tireless battle to end the slave trade, portraying a man of contradictions and extraordinary determination.

Written in a lively and engaging style, this biography of William Wilberforce transports the reader back to a dramatic age of conflict and upheaval. Published as part of the widespread commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Anti-Slave Trade Act -- also celebrated by the 2007 release of the widely acclaimed movie Amazing Grace -- this biography brings an extensive cast of colorful characters vividly to life.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (June 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802825931
• ISBN-13: 978-0802825933
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #340,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hull's Greatest Son, October 20, 2007

By	G. J. Weeks (London) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tompkin's has written a sympathetic biography of the great reformer but the author shows a better understanding of Wiberforce's Christianity than he does of his conservatism. I think that the author is in danger of judging Wilberforce by 21st century standards over his opposition to trades unions, support of fewer of civil liberties in the face of threatened French invasion and the persecution of the promoters of atheistic books. Wilberforce's campaign to abolish the slave trade is the major theme of the book as it was the dominating thing in his life. But this history would be improved by the inclusion of a brief chronology or time line, putting Wilberforce's campaign and life in the world historic context of the time which included the American and French revolutions as well as the rise and fall of Napoleon. Wilberforce turned down all office and advancement including a peerage. He was ever a man of principle not party, a great philanthropist and saint whose perseverance was a greater gift than his oratory.

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, January 7, 2008

By	Eve R. Bieber (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A thorough, inspiring, and insightful biography, although the author at times displays a mean-spirited judgmental streak.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars rather hard to read, December 12, 2008

By	Judith A. Rushton - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this book was a difficult read. It contained information that was necessary to the story but a knowledge of the process of British law making was needed to completely understand the book. Most of the people at my church are not really 'into' British Parlimentary procedure. I am not wholeheartly recommending to the members or my church this book.