"Hannah More was seen in her own time as a woman of great benevolence a selfless benefactor of the poor working to educate and help them in their poverty. Modern criticism defines More in much the same terms.".

"In Praise of Poverty, by Mona Scheuermann, reinterprets More's writing to the poor, demonstrating that her message was designed to teach them that they should be happy in their poverty and that, except in specific cases such as apprentices who worked their way into a business of their own, the poor should be content with their lot in life. To express discontent would be to challenge a social hierarchy created by God."--BOOK JACKET.