Newman and his Critics

Published by Gracewing Publishing | September, 2024 | 612 Pages | $49.95 Purchase

Reviews of Newman and his Critics

“Newman never shied away from criticism. Newman and His Critics is an insightful journey into the way Newman dealt with those who challenged his positions on such matters as faith and reason, the devout life, conscience and the nature of belief. If Newman faced his critics with unfailing charity and respect, he never backed down from proclaiming the truth in love. We live in an age of uncivil discourse, harsh acrimony and bitter division. In his masterly study, Edward Short has given us Newman at his best. May Newman and His Critics help us to engage with our critics with greater love, sincere compassion and authentic dignity.” James D. Conley, Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska

”Who will critique the critics? In Newman and his Critics, Edward Short does so deftly and thoroughly. A tremendous amount of reading ungirds the entire work. Engaging deeply with ten readers of Newman, Short opens up for us Newman's correspondence to the wider world of Victorian literary criticism and religious debate, while offering a plethora of entertaining and informative quotations. He critiques the critics with admirable sympathy. Has anyone else given Newman's critics such as Church, Pattison, Froude, and James Fitzjames Stephen such a thorough hearing and fair shake? The insight, commentary, and style here make Short's long volume a delightful read.” Dr. Andrew Meszaros, Author of The Prophetic Church: History and Doctrinal Development in John Henry Newman and Yves Congar

"In Newman and his Critics Edward Short offers the third dimension of a fascinatingly complex, three-dimensional picture of St. John Henry Newman - the earlier volumes Newman and his Contemporaries and Newman and his Family providing the other two dimensions. In the mirror the book provides of Newman's immediate historical context, an enthralling and intricate picture of Newman the saint, the friend, the priest, the intellectual, the apologist and the controversialist emerges. This capstone volume brings the author's trilogy to a masterly close. It is full of judiciously chosen quotations from a paradigmatic range of interlocutors, critics in the best and highest sense of the word, and interlaced with passages from Newman's own works, all adroitly orchestrated and suffused with a deep understanding of Newman and a thorough command of his texts. Newman and his Critics makes for bracing, rewarding reading. The first and the last chapters, on Richard William Church and Ian Ker respectively, are alone worth the price of the book.” Dr. Reinhard Huetter, Author of John Henry Newman on Truth and Its Counterfeits: A Guide for Our Times

“Criticism is often received as a sharp sword, enraging and embittering the recipient. Yet it may also prompt an honest re-examination and a humble defense of one's writings. Edward Short's masterly account of John Henry Newman's dealings with his critics demonstrates that Newman's charity and love of the truth brought forth magnificent writings that are instructive and convincing, free of acrimony and acerbity. We have much to learn from Newman's truly Christian way of engaging with those who disagreed with him.” The Rev. Gerald E. Murray, Author of Calming the Storm: Navigating the Crises Facing the Catholic Church and Society

“In Newman and his Critics, the third volume of his trilogy, Edward Short provides ten fascinating portraits of Newman's most consequential critics. What emerges in each chapter is not only sympathy for those who critically -- and sometimes caustically -- engaged Newman's positions but also an even more profound esteem for the English saint and his tireless defense of Catholic truth as it unfolds on his long and luminous journey. Short's scholarship is a gift for the whole Church, for whom Newman remains a prophetic voice in a relativistic age.” Bishop James Massa, Rector of St. Joseph's Seminary, New York, Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn