The importance of odd friendships
From Karen Swallows Prior, our guest writer this week, and a book giveaway!
Gracious reader,
In this issue of Civic Renaissance, we explore:
A note from Lexi + Book giveaway!
Karen Prior, who is our guest writer this week, on the beauty and importance of odd friendships
Now is the perfect time to take my Storytelling and the Human Condition course on Great Courses! Enjoy up to 33% off plus a FREE trial on select plans. Click here to access the exclusive discount!
The Soul of Civility in the news: Discover how the small Colorado ski town of Estes Park is prioritizing civility this fall.
A year ago in Civic Renaissance
Civic Renaissance Retreat: Would You Join Us?
Review The Soul of Civility?
A note from Lexi
Thanks to my friend and fellow lover of philosophy, literature, and beauty—Karen Swallow Prior—for being our guest writer this week. Karen has been a new friend and supporter of my work, and I’m thankful for her tireless pursuit of truth—even when it’s unpopular. She has written many lovely books on both forgotten and familiar figures from history who can inspire us today.
She has also graciously given several copies of her edited editions of classic works to the Civic Renaissance community!
To be entered to win:
Share this post on social media
And/ or, if you don’t have social media, share this post with someone who might enjoy it
Email screenshot of your shared post to ahudsonassist@gmail.com with the subject line HISTORY
Feel welcome to specify which book you’d like to win
The books on offer include:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte,
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
I hope you enjoy learning from Karen as much as I do!
The beauty and importance of odd friendships
By Karen Swallows Prior
Karen Swallow Prior, Ph.D., is a reader, writer, and professor. She authored The Evangelical Imagination (2023), On Reading Well (2018), Fierce Convictions (2014), and Booked (2012). She co-edited Cultural Engagement (2019) and contributes to numerous publications, including Christianity Today, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post. She hosts the Jane and Jesus podcast and writes a monthly column for Religion News Service.
Karen speaks frequently at various universities and conferences. She holds a Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo, specializing in 18th-century British literature, and lives on a historic homestead in Virginia with her husband, dogs, and chickens.
If you know anything about the personal life of the British reformer and abolitionist Hannah More (1745-1833), it’s probably about her friendship with William Wilberforce as the two worked together to abolish the slave trade in England. Such a friendship makes sense given that the two shared common cause--not only in fighting slavery but in a range of reform efforts, including the opening of schools for the poor, advocacy of animal welfare, and the improvement of manners and morality across society—and they shared an Evangelical Christian faith.
More’s life is exceedingly interesting. Indeed, I wrote an entire book about it, and what follows is adapted from it: Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist (Thomas Nelson, 2014).
One of the most extraordinary aspects of More’s life was the depth and range of her friendships. More was a woman of strong convictions, but she kept a plentiful table. She mixed comfortably and enthusiastically with rich and poor, churched and unchurched, and all in between. It was her habit to eat meals with the poor villagers during the years of the Sunday schools. At the same time, she maintained close friendships with bishops and lords. “How varied is my life,” she once observed. “Thursday dining with the Prince-Bishop of Durham—on Sunday with two religious colliers.” Her religious tolerance was equally broad in her personal relationships—if not always politically. As committed as she was to the Church of England and even after the renewal of her faith following her meeting with former slave ship captain, John Newton, she continued to befriend those of less or different faith commitments. More had a rare ability to keep strong, unwavering convictions in tension with broad- minded toleration.
Perhaps no friendship reflected More’s openheartedness more than the one with Horace Walpole. More was a relatively young thirty-five and Walpole sixty-three when they first met. They bonded immediately and remained close friends—despite bumpy disagreements—until Walpole’s death in 1797. Walpole published More’s gothic poem “Bishop Bonner’s Ghost” in 1789 at his renowned Strawberry Hill Press, which was quite an honor. Horace liked to refer to her affectionately as “my dear saint Hannah” and “Holy Hannah.” Far less conservative than she, he bantered with her about what he considered her overly strict morality.
Walpole “rallied me yesterday,” More wrote in one letter, “for what he called the ill-natured strictness of my tracts; and talked foolishly enough of the cruelty of making the poor spend so much time in reading books, and depriving them of their pleasure on Sundays.” In another letter, one Walpole wrote to her, he teased, “How I admire the activity of your zeal and perseverance! Should a new church ever be built, I hope in a side chapel there will be an altar dedicated to Saint Hannah, Virgin and Martyr; and that your pen, worn to the bone, will be enclosed in a golden reliquaire, and preserved on the shrine.” Despite his inability or unwillingness to adhere to her moral and religious code, or perhaps because of it, Walpole seemed genuinely to admire his friend’s piety. Many marveled at the odd friendship.
The son of the British prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, Horace Walpole, later the Earl of Orford, was a confirmed bachelor who, like More, never married. Beyond his literary and political accomplishments as a gothic novelist and a former member of Parliament, Walpole was well known, like his friend Hannah, for his keen observations and witty insights, many of which were recorded in his letters. Horace and Hannah had much in common, but probably this shared wit cemented their friendship. Walpole’s most famous epigram is, “This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.” Walpole’s life reflected that dichotomy, as did the great joys and pains that marked More’s life.
Not surprisingly, some people regarded More’s friendship with Walpole as irreconcilable. More’s first biographer unfortunately felt it “painful” but necessary to apologize for More’s extensive and friendly correspondence with a man whose principles “were such as to throw him out of the circle of Christian fellowship.” This provincial attitude surely stemmed from an inability to grasp the broader mind of More, one whose confidence in her principles did not require that she demand the same of others. For Hannah, life was a feast, and the space at her table was abundant.
Connect with Karen and find out more about his work:
Great Courses:
Now is the perfect time to take my Storytelling and the Human Condition course on Great Courses! Enjoy up to 33% off plus a FREE trial on select plans. Click here to access the exclusive discount!
Invitation:
Civic Renaissance Retreat: Would You Join Us?
Would you be interested in joining us for a Civic Renaissance retreat and conference on civility in 2025 in Indianapolis?
This retreat and conference is envisioned as a unique opportunity to gather and discuss how we can all flourish despite our differences. We’ll explore ways to bring these ideas back to our own communities to help them thrive amidst division.
During the event, we will:
Gain a deeper understanding of the roots of our current challenges and explore solutions that promote civility.
Develop emotional intelligence and relational skills to enhance conversations and relationships in all areas of life.
Learn practical strategies for creating and sustaining a civility community.
Write to me with your interest and ideas at ahudsonassist@gmail.com
In the news:
Bridging the Divide: Civility Expert Offers Tips on How to Flourish Across Differences by Lesley Kennedy
So thankful to hear how my book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, continues to empower local leaders to cultivate civility in their communities. Discover how the small Colorado ski town of Estes Park is prioritizing civility this fall.
Why Freedom Needs Manners- Thank you, Greg Collins, for this eminently thoughtful review of my book!
TIME Magazine— What Emily Post and Daniel of Beccles Can Teach Us About Civility Today
Civility is our eternal project- review of the soul of civility by the George W. Bush Center
Thanks so much to ABC Channel6, WRTV and ABC for the conversation about how civility and basic respect for personhood are the antidotes to our crisis of division — recorded from my front porch! Click here to watch!
Thank you for being part of our Civic Renaissance community!
A Year Ago on Civic Renaissance:
