John Henry Newman: A Portrait in Letters

by Roderick Strange (Editor)

Overview

John Henry Newman was one of the most eminent of Victorians and an intellectual pioneer for an age of doubt and unsettlement. His teaching transformed the Victorian Church of England, yet many still want to know more of Newman's personal life. Newman's printed correspondence runs to 32 volumes, and John Henry Newman: A Portrait in Letters offers a way through the maze.

Roderick Strange has chosen letters that illustrate not only the well-known aspects of Newman's personality, but also those in which elements that may be less familiar are on display. There are letters to family and friends, and also terse letters laced with anger and sarcasm. The portrait has not been airbrushed. This selection of letters presents a rounded picture, one in which readers will meet Newman as he really was and enjoy the pleasure of his company. As Newman himself noted, 'the true life of a man is in his letters'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199604142
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/29/2015
Pages:	608
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Roderick Strange was rector of the Pontifical Beda College, Rome, from 1998 to the summer of 2015. He was ordained as a priest of the Shrewsbury Diocese in 1969 and, besides working as a parish priest, he has been the Catholic Chaplain at Oxford University and the chairman of the National Conference of Priests. He has written extensively on Newman including John Henry Newman: A Mind Alive (Darton, Longman, and Todd 2008) and Newman and the Gospel of Christ (OUP 1981).

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroductionA Chronology of John Henry Newman1. Early Years (1801-33)2. The Oxford Movement (1833-39)3. Under Siege (1839-43)4. From Oxford to Rome (1843-46)5. Early Catholic Years (1846-51)6. The Pressure of Crises (1852-58)7. Dark Days (1859-63)8. The Apologia and the Oxford Mission (1863-65)9. Answering Pusey and Anticipating the Vatican Council (1865-69)10. Vatican I and Answering Gladstone (1870-76)11. Honorary Fellow of Trinity and Cardinal (1876-81)12. Final Year (1881-90)Index of Correspondents

Editorial Reviews

"[T]he long-time Roman Catholic priest and Newman scholar, Roderick Strange, has done all scholars and laypersons of nineteenth-century church and society a great service by distilling the most revealing contents of those thirty-two bulging volumes into one. In this masterful editing process Strange has created a compendium, a kind of book of Newman that in chronological order encapsulates his life from the fresh-faced child to the aged cardinal."—C. Brad Faught, Anglican and Episcopal History

"A great book, good introduction and commentary...Recommended."—CHOICE

"Reading this book leads one to discover (or rediscover) a rich and fascinating personality, and creates a desire to plunge further into certain exchanges of letters or the development of certain themes and ideas. It cannot fail to appeal to a non-specialist readership desirous of knowing Newman better, and as well as being a source of delight to specialists to inspire them to read further in the 32 volumes of the Letters and Diaries" — Keith Beaumont, Etudes newmaniennes

"[W]hat makes this effort from Roderick Strange exceptional is its deep understanding of the material, which allows him to organize, yes, but also to reveal...The result is a remarkably engaging text proceeding chronologically, with chapters focused on key moments or turning points in Newman's life...Roderick Strange set out to create a portrait of Newman and he succeeded. For students and other interested readers seeking perspective on both Newman's personal life as well as his way of thinking during different theological controversies, this volume is indispensable. But more than this, it is an absolute pleasure to read. Strange has done a superb job with the editing: the introductions are insightful, the footnotes after each letter are helpful without becoming overbearing, and the index of Newman's correspondents keeps the reader from getting lost. Most of all, Newman's command of the English language is present throughout the text."—Reading Religion

"Great writers are not always great letter-writers: Charles Dickens was, George Eliot wasn't. John Henry Newman, one of the great Victorian prose writers, was also one of our great letter-writers, whose extant letters fill thirty-two daunting volumes, which Roderick Strange has now made accessible with this carefully chosen and excellently introduced selection." —Ian Ker

"This admirable anthology will enable many to discover Newman as a correspondent who is a brilliant stylist, a sharp—and sometimes humorous—observer of humanity, and an incisive theological teacher, who still has much to say not only to Anglicans and Catholics but to many more today." —Rt Revd Dr Geoffrey Rowell

"Those who delve into the life and thought of John Henry Newman are inevitably daunted by the sheer wealth of material available, including Newman's own voluminous writings. By means of a judicious selection of Newman's letters, set clearly against the background out of which they emerged, Roderick Strange succeeds in providing his readers with a comprehensive and nuanced portrait of the complex genius who was John Henry Newman. This work confirms Newman's own claim that 'a man's life lies in his letters.'" —Terrence Merrigan

"These wonderful letters help us to understand how friendship was at the heart of Newman's life. We see here practical active charity and, of course, his wonderful, sensitive master of the English language." —Timothy Radcliffe, O.P.

"Brilliantly distills Newman's letters, giving readers a rich view of the great convert's charm, integrity, and genius."—The Catholic World Reporter

"One can read Newman's letters for historical and theological insight. But in an era such as ours, where the language of family is equivocal and the language of friendship cheap, one can also read these letters to understand the value of personal relationships."—First Things

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