Amazing Grace: Yes Virginia, some politicians have principles

[dangermousie]

Yesterday, I went and saw Amazing Grace, a movie about William Wilberforce, a British Parliamentarian who fought for (and got passed) the 1807 Abolition of Slave Trade Act. The movie stars Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce, who was a very young politician, in his early 20s when elected to Parliament, and who was apparently quite the idealistic cause-head, fighting his whole life against slavery, for prison reform, and the founder of the Society Against Cruelty to Animals.

It’s a good movie, well-acted, well-put-together, and it’s actually startling and refreshing to be reminded that yes, someone like that was a real person, and there are idealists in politics, it’s not all about sordidness and money-grubbing. Apparently, WW was a close friend of William Pitt the Younger, at 24 the youngest Prime Minister in British history (Pitt and Wilberforce were college friends) and I was all excited to see Pitt in the movie (looking hot, I might add). It’s also awesome to see intelligent and energetic real life politicians.

And hey, they had Charles James Fox (as he was one of WW’s supporters despite being in a different political party) in the movie too, and ever since reading The Aristocrats by Stella Tillyard, a biography of the Richmond sisters (one of whom was his mother), I’ve been rather interested in him. I also read a book “The harlot and the statesman: The story of Elizabeth Armistead & Charles James Fox,” by I.M. Davis in college, and it was a biography of Elizabeth Armistead, Fox’s wife, as Fox quite unusually (and very awesomely) married a professional courtesan. Woo-hoo for him!

Anyway, I am going to go looking for some books on Wilberforce and Pitt. Any recs? The funny thing is, I came across a novel about Pitt a long time ago, and I only read the beginning but it’s now bugging me as to what it was. Any ideas? Any clue as to where I might look?

In any event, I want some non-fiction books about them. What are good ones? I am going to get William Hague’s William Pitt the Younger, not just because it seems the easiest to find, but also because it seems good, but any other ones? I actually really enjoy non-fiction books about politics, so if there are any recs for any such for British politics in 17th-19th centuries, do rec!

And in unrelated but historical-book news, I started reading The Disappearing Duke: The Improbable Tale of an Eccentric English Family
by Andrew Crofts and it is craaaaazy.

Comments

[yavannie77.livejournal.com]

I'm eagerly and impatiently waiting whether or not AG will come to the Finnish theatres. I so want to see it! Sure, my prime motive is Ioan, but since I teach 7th graders about the history of slavery (I even have a hand-out about Olaudah Equina's journey to the States), I'm very much interested in the less-known part of the history of the abolition of slavery. (I for one have to confess I had never heard of Wm Wilberforce before I started hearing about the movie.)

And if it's made into a movie with a droolable cast, who am I to complain? ;) (I wouldn't complain at all, if I'll actually got see it in a proper movie theatre in my hometown.)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heee! Hope it comes to Finland!

[yavannie77.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me too... I'd hate to have to wait for the DVD. Which I will buy the second it's out, but still - a bit sooner would be a lot better! ;)

[koalathebear.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this. I'm glad you liked it. I've been looking forward to it coming out but a lot of the reviews have described it as worthy but kind of boring and ponderous, so I was a bit apprehensive. I was debating whether to see it after all but now I think I shall :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I don't know if the movie is unpreachy (I think it has a very strong conviction about it and it can come across as preachy) but I was never bored...

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Have you read Amanda Foreman’s bio of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire? She was one of the great Whig hostesses of her era, and close to Fox (who was also v. close to Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the playright, a fact that always amuses me.) And Tillyard actually has two “sequels” to The Aristocrats (one is a life of Edward Fitzgerald, who I think you might find extremely appealing :P and one is a new biography of George III, which, perforce, deals a lot with the Lennox sisters.) There's a biography of Wilberforce (upon which I think the movie is based) called Amazing Grace and Adam Hochshild's book Bury the Chains is really well-written, although it's about the anti-slavery movement in Britain in general, not so much Wilberforce in particular. As for Pitt … um, I dunno?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I've read the Edward Fitzgerald one (yes, you are right, extremely appealing :D) but I didn't know about the George III biography. Will seek them out soon.

"Bury the Chains" also sounds very good.

I am actually also trying to find some books on the great political trials of the 17th century. Any recs? I think of anyone on my flist, you are most likely to know...

[mr-kit.livejournal.com]

I second Bury the Chains.

It's a gritty adventure, full of eccentric and extreme characters, and vividly described locations and situations. It is liberally spiced with (but not bogged down in) period detail and asides.

For instance, I learned that at a fairly typical English country fair you could not only see bare knuckle boxing and bear baiting, but also a man eating live fox cubs, and a cudgel fight.

A cudgel fight! I imagine the scene thus:

The bell rings.

"Round one!"

*thwack*

"I think he's dead, mate."

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The bell rings.

"Round one!"

*thwack*

"I think he's dead, mate."

ROFL. Sounds a bit short for my taste. But yes, I'll check it out...

[hanabihana.livejournal.com]

it still hasn't been released here yet (i don't know why) i'll have to wait to the 23rd to see it but it looks pretty interesting & i like the look of the cast list. i haven't seen ioan gruffudd in anything since the tv series hornblower XD

i think i briefly learnt about william wilberforce in my history classes but strangely enough i don't think he's as well known as he should be over here. i'm sure the film will help alot of people learn more about him & slave trades.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw IG in Hornblower ages ago and really liked him in it.

I've actually never heard of WW before, which is a pity...

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I really liked the movie if just for Ioan's portrayal of Wilberforce. Wilberforce really was one of those people trying to change the world (and who did). We rarely see movies that have wide eyed idealists as the main character anymore (probably because we as a culture are so jaded) and when they are there there's a tendency for them to be written as annoying. I was never annoyed by Wilberforce in the movie though, even though he was a complete and total idealist.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

First of, your icon is to die for.

I was never annoyed by Wilberforce in the movie though, even though he was a complete and total idealist.

Exactly. He never came across as someone who was pedantic and didn't enjoy life at all. It was very unusual to see such an idealistic hero, who triumphs, too and is not crushed by the system. Sort if a 19th century 'Mr Smith Goes to Washington' type thing, and I loved that.