John Henry Newman: A Portrait in Letters
edited by roderick strange
oxford, 608 pages, $49.50
W
riting to his sister Jemima Mozley in 1863, John Henry Newman commented that “a man’s life lies in his letters.” To him, letters offered a more accurate account of a life than a biography. Biographers interpret and assign motives, he noted. We might also add that they write with the benefit of hindsight and impose an order on the vicissitudes of life. Letters are limited in outlook, immediate and personal, and so perhaps are more direct windows on a life. Yet we must not forget that, like biographers, letter writers are also offering their own interpretations of their lives and actions. Of that, more later.
Roderick Strange’s new selection of Newman’s letters should be welcomed by all those interested in the life of the erstwhile “most dangerous man in England.” Newman was a brilliant and prolific correspondent, yet few will have the luxury of the money or the time to invest in the thirty-two volumes of the Oxford edition of the complete letters. This book is an excellent alternative, and one to which all those who enjoy Newman will find themselves returning again and again.
