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during the last two or three decades of most of Newman's letters and papers, and also makes use of previously unpublished materials, to reveal Newman's character in all its complexity and contrasts: the legendary sadness and sensitivity are placed in their proper perspective by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.

This biography of John Henry Newman takes advantage of the publication during the last two or three decades of most of Newman's letters and papers as well as using still unpublished material. The author covers his personal life and aims to place in their proper perspective the characteristics of sadness and sensitivity for which he is often known. He argues that there was also a very masculine side of his temperament which showed resilience and toughness in the face of adversity. The book attempts to reveal the achievement of Newman as a Victorian "prophet" or "sage"; as a religious figure dominating the 19th century, sometimes seen as the forerunner of the Second Vatican Council and the modern ecumenical movement, and as a universal Christian thinker with a range of intellectual interests, in particular educational ideas.

• Oxford
• the Movement
• the via media
• doubts
• crisis
• development
• from Oxford to Rome
• controversy and satire
• the idea of a university
• the Catholic University of Ireland
• oratory and university
• the idea of the laity
• the years of silence
• apologia
• return to Oxford?
• the justification of religious belief
• papal infallibility
• Oxford and Rome again.