John Newton

Jonathan Aitken is a former MP and cabinet minister. He is now an author, biographer and broadcaster.In 1995, the court found him guilty of perjury in a celebrated case against the Guardian newspaper and he spent 18 months in Belmarsh Prison. He subsequently studied theology at Oxford and in 2019, he was ordained an Anglican priest. He is now a full-time prison chaplain in London.He is the author of an award-winning biography of President Richard Nixon and has written a number of critically acclaimed books for Bloomsbury Continuum – including a bestselling life of Margaret Thatcher (2013).

• Acknowledgements1 A Spiritual Upbringing2 First Steps in Love and Seafaring3 Press-ganged4 Flogged and Degraded5 Exchanged6 Enslaved in Africa7 Rescued by the Greyhound8 Troublemaker and Blasphemer9 In the Shadow of Death10 False Dawns, More Storms and a Safe Landing11 Londonderry, Love and a Liverpool Shipowner12 Adventures on the Brownlow13 Struggles of Books, Body and Soul14 Marriage to Polly15 Captain of the Duke of Argyle16 First Voyage of the African17 The End of a Seafaring Career18 Unemployment, Inspiration and Prayer19 Methodism and Materialism20 Life in Liverpool21 The Call to Ordination22 The First Rejection23 In Suspense24 An Authentic Narrative25 Ordained at Last26 First Impressions of Olney27 Parish Ministry28 Pressure to Move: Praying with Polly29 Prayer and Church History30 Friendship with Cowper31 Creativity and Crisis32 Amazing Grace33 What Happened to Amazing Grace34 Winning Friends and Influencing People35 Meddling in Politics36 Family Life and Health Worries37 Leaving Olney38 Arriving in London39 Family, Friends and Apologia40 The Eclectic Society and the Messiah41 Mentor to William Wilberforce42 Correspondence with Wilberforce43 Abolitionist Campaigner44 Death of Polly45 Declining Years and Continuing Influence46 A Great Sinner and a Great SaviourEpilogueSource NotesBibliographyIndex

Using diaries and correspondence, this biography crosses the boundaries of history and religion, and should appeal to a wide audience.