Biographies
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History of Parliament bios
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Biographies of William Wilberforce
Wilberforce, Robert Isaac and Wilberforce, Samuel, The Life of William Wilberforce, 5 vols (London: John Murray, 1838). The mother of all Wilberforce biographies, this immense official life was assembled by two sons of Wilberforce. It remains indispensable due to its copious extracts from his correspondence and diaries, but it should be treated with caution. As one reviewer noted, ‘Read this Life and you will know Mr Wilberforce, but you will know his sons better’.
Coupland, Reginald, Wilberforce: A Narrative (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923). As Beit Professor of Colonial History at Oxford, Coupland depicted Wilberforce as an exemplar of humanitarian imperialism.
Furneaux, Robin, William Wilberforce (London: Hamilton, 1974). Furneaux (aka Frederick Smith, 3rd Earl of Birkenhead), enjoyed access to the Wilberforce diaries when they were still in family hands. This remains one of the best critical biographies of Wilberforce.
Pollock, John, Wilberforce (London: Constable and Co, 1977). An Anglican clergyman, Pollock undertook prodigious research in Wilberforce’s correspondence, but did not have access to his manuscript diaries (apart from the one volume in Wilberforce House). Richly detailed with a strong focus on Wilberforce’s evangelical religion.
Cowie, Leonard W, William Wilberforce, 1759-1833: A Bibliography (1992). A scholar’s guide to manuscript and printed sources, Wilberforce’s speeches, contemporary portraits and caricatures and much more.
Wolffe, John, ‘Wilberforce, William (1759-1833)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004), https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/29386. A concise, reliable life of Wilberforce by one of the editors of the Wilberforce diaries.
Hague, William, William Wilberforce: The Life of the great Anti-slave trade Campaigner (London: HarperPress, 2007). Written after Hague’s difficult spell as leader of the Conservative Party and before his term as Foreign Secretary, this was a follow-up to his biography of Pitt the Younger. Strong on the practice of politics and parliamentary procedure.
Belmonte, Kevin, William Wilberforce: Hero for Humanity, illustrated edn (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007). A colourful and carefully researched popular biography. See also the author’s gazetteer, Travel with Wilberforce (2007).
Metaxas, Eric, Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery (San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2007). The tie-in to the Hollywood biopic, ‘Amazing Grace’. The most readable biography, but also the most hagiographical.
Tomkins, Stephen, William Wilberforce: A Biography (Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2007). A concise biography, and a critically-alert alternative to Metaxas.
Stott, Anne, Wilberforce: Family and Friends (Oxford: OUP, 2012). Based on a thorough study of manuscript diaries and correspondence, this is the best study of family and friendship in Wilberforce’s inner circle, especially the Thorntons and the Macaulays.
Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce
https://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/wilberforce.htm
https://www.mylearning.org/stories/william-wilberforce/105
http://museumcollections.hullcc.gov.uk/collections/theme.php?irn=159
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/william_wilberforce_article_01.shtml
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/wilberforce-william/
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/clapham-sect/
http://eliotsofporteliot.com/claphamsect/index.html
Wolffe, John, ‘The Clapham Sect (act. 1792-1815)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2005), https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/42140
History of Parliament articles
William Wilberforce was an MP for 45 years (Kingston-upon-Hull, 1780-1784; Yorkshire, 1784-1812; Bramber, 1812-1825). The History of Parliament is an ongoing research project creating ‘a comprehensive account of parliamentary politics’. Wilberforce’s political career spans three volumes of this work, and the articles are now available on-line:
http://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/wilberforce-william-1759-1833
http://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/wilberforce-william-1759-1833
http://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/wilberforce-william-1759-1833
Archives
Wilberforce House Museum, Hull: http://museumcollections.hullcc.gov.uk/collections/storydetail.php?irn=29&master=443
http://catalogue.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/
Bodleian Library: https://archives.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/repositories/2/archival_objects/75049
Duke University: https://repository.duke.edu/dc/wilberf
The Wilberforce Diaries Project 