David Bruce is an assistant professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Here he dreamcasts an adaptation of his new book,
The Life of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton: Extraordinary Perseverance:
The Life of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton: Extraordinary Perseverance
is a biography of one of Great Britain’s most prominent
nineteenth-century social activists. Unfortunately, that just doesn’t
scream box-office bonanza, so I can’t imagine anyone pursuing this as a
cinematic project. On the other hand, I honestly think it would make a
nice independent art-house film.
Although surrounded by many other reform-minded people, I consider
Thomas Fowell Buxton to be the first true social reformer – that rare
breed that is concerned with all of humanity, not just one or two select
causes. An acolyte of William Wilberforce, Buxton is best known for
his efforts to end British slavery in 1834. In truth, he was a man of
many interests and focused much of his life on punishment and prison
reform, providing charity and support for the poor, ending the
centuries-old restrictions placed on Great Britain’s Catholics, and
furthering education and religious training overseas. Along the way, he
and his family experienced tremendous losses, personal and
professional, and it is amazing that he never lost his focus or faith.
For the most part, Buxton has been forgotten by mainstream historians;
nowadays, he tends to stand in Wilberforce’s shadow. It’s really tragic
– he literally went from being very well-known and respected, to being
reimagined as a “minor supporting character” in less than a
half-century. What better way, therefore, to reacquaint people with one
of the more important activists in history than with his own movie?
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton was an energetic social activist who was
well-known for his meticulous research and long speeches. Personally, I
like either Paul Bettany or Daniel Day-Lewis,
as both are outstanding actors who have had much success with
characters that are at once intelligent, determined, sincere, and a tad
socially awkward. Additionally, both men bear a slight facial
resemblance to Buxton and look good in period set pieces. It’d be a
hard choice, to be honest – although if I were aiming for complete accuracy, then Bettany gets the nod, as he shares Buxton’s 6’4” frame.
Hannah Gurney Buxton was usually characterized as a dutiful, supporting
wife, who also happened to be an exceptional, natural beauty. She was
also an extremely resilient woman who experienced more than her fair
share of tragedy and pain. I have long been a fan of Amy Adams and think that she’d make an excellent Hannah, although I think Winona Ryder might be a good choice, as well.
Buxton’s mother, Anna Hanbury Buxton, bore six children, lost one, and
was widowed, before she reached the age of thirty. She had no problem
in allowing her surviving children the freedom they’d wanted, but was
also quick to command respect when necessary. Buxton suggested that his
mother may have suffered from some mental health issues (which are
understandable, considering some of the things her family experienced).
Emma Thompson, who I think would be perfect in the role.
Gabriel Byrne would
make an interesting William Wilberforce, a man who recognized that his
increasing physical limitations would prevent him from realizing his
life’s goal of abolishing slavery. Stephen Dillane was excellent as Thomas Jefferson in HBO’s John Adams, and I think he would be equally as intriguing as Hannah’s brother, the evangelist Joseph John Gurney. Finally, I would cast Kate Winslet as Hannah’s older sister, the noted prison reformer Elizabeth Fry.
Learn more about the book and author at
the Extraordinary Perseverance website.