John Henry Newman: A Biography

This full-length life of John Henry Newman is the first comprehensive biography of both the man and the thinker and writer. It draws extensively on material from Newman's letters and papers. Newman's character is revealed in its complexity and contrasts: the legendary sadness and sensitivity are placed in their proper perspective by being set against his no less striking qualities of exuberance, humour, and toughness.

This book attempts to do justice 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 nineteenth century, who can now be recognised 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.

Ian Ker is Senior Research Fellow at St Benet's Hall, Oxford and has taught both English literature and theology at universites in Britain and the United States. He is the author and editor of more than twenty books on Newman. His The Catholic Revival in English Literature 1845-1961 was published in 2003.