‘In another world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.’
From An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1903)
Canonized by Pope Francis in October 2019, Saint John Henry Newman (1801–90) was one of the most controversial and influential thinkers of his day. He is now recognized as one of the finest prose stylists of modern times, as well as a popular poet and hymn-writer. His spiritual autobiography, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, is a modern classic, and his many theological writings continue to be widely read and highly regarded by Christians of all traditions.
As Eamon Duffy brilliantly demonstrates in this fresh assessment of Newman’s life and achievement, other theologians of his time are now largely of historical interest whereas Newman is still very much our contemporary.
‘This splendid book. . . expertly illuminates every aspect of Newman's life [and] work.’
Wall Street Journal
John Henry Newman : A Very Brief History
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Author Description
Eamon Duffy is Emeritus Professor of Christian History at the University of Cambridge and a past president of Magdalene College. One of the world's most influential and widely respected historians, his previous books include the bestselling The Stripping of the Altars (Yale University Press, 1994), The Voices of Morebath (Yale University Press, 2001) Fires of Faith (Yale University Press, 2009) and Saints, Sacrilege and Sedition (Bloomsbury, 2012).