John Newton

Featuring a trio of historians—Brian H. Edwards, Jonathan Aitken, and Tony Baker—who describe the amazing twists and turns in John Newton's remarkable story, this outstanding documentary profiles the life of the 18th-century figure who evolved from slave trader to abolitionist (becoming a hugely popular pastor-teacher in the Church of England along the way). Newton's picaresque adventures begin with his being the protected young son of a devoutly Christian woman and a seafaring captain. Following the death of his mother at an early age and an aborted education, Newton took to the waves and became a rough-and-tumble sailor who suffered the lash on his back and endured a stint as a white slave in West Africa. Shuffled from one vessel to the next by a Royal Navy that had press-ganged him into compulsory service, Newton eventually gained his freedom and captained a brutal slave ship until ill health forced him ashore. Back on land, Newton's earlier religious epiphany that came during a shipwreck blossomed into a rich spiritual life, in which he preached eloquently, wrote hymns (most famously “Amazing Grace”), and became a principal in the growing movement to outlaw slavery in England. A compelling biography, this is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)