The Book of Private Devotion by Hannah More (PDF)

This book is a collection of occasional prayers, devout meditations, sacred poetry and essays on prayer, gathered mostly from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Contributors to this anthology include Hannah More, James Montgomery, Thomas Wilson, William Cowper, and many others. Anyone interested in prayer will be edified by this assortment of sacred writings.

PDF Download, 144 pages.

HANNAH MORE (1745-1833) was born in Stapleton, Bristol, England. Early in her life she was interested in the theater and wrote plays. For six years her fashionable social life grew to include many important people, but when it lost its appeal she turned to religion. Dr. James Stonhouse is credited with Hannah More’s spiritual awakening, but it was John Newton’s influence that gave energy and devotion to her spiritual walk, and she became a strong Evangelical Christian. Education was a strong theme in her life and William Wilberforce encouraged her to start schools for the education and moral advancement of poor village children. To counteract immoral forces in society, Hannah More, her sister Sarah, and others wrote a series of successful chapbooks called the “Cheap Repository Tracts.” She was also active with a group called the “Clapham Sect” that met at Henry Thornton’s house in Clapham. She had a vast social circle and wrote a multitude of letters.  Her talent for writing also produced many books of drama, poetry, hymns, fiction and religious instruction.

JAMES MONTGOMERY (1771–1854) was born in Irvine, Scotland. He was the son of a Moravian minister and attended Fulneck Seminary. He spent 32 years editing the newspaper Sheffield Iris. He was a prolific hymn writer writing 400 hymns.

Bishop THOMAS WILSON (1663-1755) was born at Burton in Cheshire. He was Bishop of Sodor and Man for 58 years. He was a great man of prayer and wrote Sacra Privata.