This biography of England’s heroic abolitionist commemorates the 200th anniversary of the ending of slavery in the United Kingdom William Wilberforce (1759–1833) has been hailed as a one of society’s great reformers. His great goal was the abolition of the slave trade and of slavery in England, and in Amazing Grace , the true story of his remarkable life and meaningful accomplishments leap off the page. Beginning with Wilberforce’s religious conversion in 1784 that led him to a life of activism grounded in his deep Christian faith, this compelling historical biography chronicles his extraordinary contributions to the world, primarily his 20-year fight to abolish the British slave trade, a battle he won in 1807. He was also instrumental in passing legislation to abolish slavery in the British colonies, a victory achieved just three days before his death in 1833. Wilberforce was a hero to Abraham Lincoln and an inspiration to the anti-slavery movement in America, and the account of his fight for social justice in Amazing Grace will help many more become reacquainted with this exceptional man. Discover the story of the man Abraham Lincoln called a hero: Abolitionist Crusade: Follow Wilberforce’s two-decade-long battle to abolish the British slave trade, a fight he finally won in 1807. - Faith and Politics: Explore how his profound religious conversion in 1784 reshaped his political career, turning him from an ambitious politician into one of history’s greatest social reformers. - A Legacy of Freedom: Learn about the final legislative victory won just three days before his death and how his tireless work became an inspiration for the anti-slavery movement in America. - The Clapham Circle: Go inside the influential community of like-minded reformers who met to strategize, pray, and plot the course for social change in the British Empire. “The little-known story of the lifelong struggle of a member of Parliament to abolish slavery in the British Empire.” - USA Today “A fine and important book.” - Chicago Sun-Times Amazing Grace tells the story of the remarkable life of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833). This accessible biography chronicles Wilberforce's extraordinary role as a human rights activist, cultural reformer, and member of Parliament. At the center of this heroic life was a passionate twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade, a battle Wilberforce won in 1807, as well as efforts to abolish slavery itself in the British colonies, a victory achieved just three days before his death in 1833. Metaxas discovers in this unsung hero a man of whom it can truly be said: he changed the world. Before Wilberforce, few thought slavery was wrong. After Wilberforce, most societies in the world came to see it as a great moral wrong. To mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade, HarperSanFrancisco and Bristol Bay Productions have joined together to commemorate the life of William Wilberforce with the feature-length film Amazing Grace and this companion biography, which provides a fuller account of the amazing life of this great man than can be captured on film. This account of Wilberforce's life will help many become acquainted with an exceptional man who was a hero to Abraham Lincoln and an inspiration to the anti-slavery movement in America. Eric Metaxas is the author of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask) and thirty children's books. He is founder and host of Socrates in the City in New York City, where he lives with his wife and daughter. His writing has appeared in the New York Times , the Atlantic , Washington Post , Books & Culture , Christianity Today , Mars Hill Review , and First Things . He has written for VeggieTales and Rabbit Ears Productions, earning three Grammy nominations for Best Children's Recording. Amazing Grace LP By Eric Metaxas HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Eric Metaxas All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061253003 Chapter One Little Wilberforce " . . . if it be a work of grace, it cannot fail." On August 24, 1759, William Wilberforce was born into a prosperous merchant family in the city of Hull. The impressive, red-brick Jacobean mansion in which he was born was situated on the city's High Street, overlooking the Hull River. The Hull in turn flowed into the much larger Humber, which flowed eastward into the North Sea. The Wilberforce family proudly traced its lineage in Yorkshire to the twelfth century and the reign of Henry II. Burke's Peerage places them as one of the very few families who can be traced to the far side of the river 1066 and Saxon times. In those days and for centuries afterward, on into Wilberforce's own century, the family name was Wilberfoss. It was changed by Wilberforce's grandfather, who seems to have had something of a "forceful" personality, as evinced in part by his penchant for changing whatever he disli