Completely revised and updated.

A common sailor at the age of eleven and press-ganged onto a man-of-war at nineteen, John Newton experienced the thrill of action against French warships and the cruel lash of navy discipline for desertion. Rejecting God and morality, Newton entered the slave-trade, became a slave himself and, by the age of twenty-three, was little removed from the state of a wild animal.

A violent Atlantic storm brought Newton to his knees and to God. The servant of slaves rose to occupy the pulpit of the most influential church in London.

As author of the well-known hymn ‘Amazing Grace' Newton left hymns and letters that have inspired many for over two-hundred years.


Brian Edwards lives in Surrey where he was the minister of Hook Evangelical Church for twenty-nine years prior to his appointment as President of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).


'First published in 1975, this life of John Newton can be summarised in three words - sin, romance, grace. It is spiritually exciting to follow God's workings in the life of a great sinner who became a vessel of grace and usefulness. Newton exemplifies for us the cruelty of the eighteenth century slave trade. Brian Edwards portrays vividly what it was like to be a victim of this awful business, and yet how acceptable it was to many. Even for a while after his conversion, Newton was involved in what was seen as a legitimate occupation. However, he eventually became one of the strongest voices calling for the abolition of this pernicious trade.'
Review from Evangelical Times (February 2007)