‘An Absurd Rage for Public Speaking’: An Abolitionist Fair Orator in the London Debating Societies, 1788–1791

Abstract

On 11 May 1789, the night before Parliament’s first debate on ending the slave trade, a woman advocated for abolition before hundreds of Londoners at a debating society. Despite her compelling oratory and numerous speeches on the slave trade, her name remains unknown, and she is recorded only as the ‘Fair Orator’. This article begins to restore her place in history by examining the role of London debating societies as crucial yet neglected venues for abolitionist advocacy in late-eighteenth-century Britain. By drawing on newspaper advertisements and government spy reports, it highlights the Fair Orator’s impact, explores her potential identity—possibly Mary Robinson—and addresses the historical anonymity that has obscured women speakers’ contributions to the abolitionist movement. The article also sheds light on the hostile environment women orators faced during this period. In doing so, it argues for the recognition of women’s vital yet often overlooked roles in the abolitionist soundscape and the campaign against the slave trade.