John Henry Newman : a biography

This full-length life of John Henry Newman is the first comprehensive biography of the man as well as the thinker and writer. It takes advantage of the publication during the last two or three decades of most of Newman's letters and papers, and also makes use of previously unpublished materials, to reveal Newman's character in all its complexity and contrasts: the legendary sadness and sensitivity are placed in their proper perspective by being set against his qualities of exuberance, humour, and toughness. Justice is done to the fullness of Newman's achievement and genius: the Victorian "prophet" or "sage", who ranks among the major English prose writers; the dominating religious figure of the 19th century, who can now be recognized as the forerunner of the Second Vatican Council and the modern ecumenical movement; and finally, the universal Christian thinker, whose significance transcends his culture and time.