Cardinal Newman Letters

Letters of John Henry Newman

A man of letters—literally: his life based on his letters; Letters and Diaries collection

Overview | Anglican life in letters | Life in letters | Collected letters

Oratorian Father Charles Stephen Dessain, Archivist of the Birmingham Oratory and editor of volumes 11 to 31 of the Newman Letters and Diaries collection, wrote in 1966: "Some twenty thousand of the letters Newman wrote during his long life have been preserved. He became famous so early that they were kept from the time of the Oxford Movement, and, of course, they were kept also for their intrinsic interest and beauty ... They bring us in touch with Newman himself more closely than any of his works. It becomes possible to know him almost like a living friend, and in spite of his reserve, they reveal his natural, energetic, humorous and practical character."— John Henry Newman, p 164 Internet Archive

Father Newman commented on the value of letters in a letter to his sister Jemima in 1863: "it has ever been a hobby of mine ... that a man's life lies in his letters ... not only for the interest of a biography, but for arriving at the inside of things, the publication of letters is the true method."—Letters and Diaries, v20, 443

Several editors have implemented Newman's life-in-letters approach to biography, beginning with his Anglican life.

Newman's Anglican Life in Letters

Anne Mozley, an Anglican and sister-in-law to John Henry Newman’s sister Harriet Newman (Mrs. Thomas Mozley), published in 1885 a collection of the letters of her brother J B Mozley. This led to extensive correspondence with Cardinal Newman, and his request that she, as an Anglican, edit the letters and other papers from his Anglican period. She published the collection in two volumes shortly after Cardinal Newman's death.

Letters and Correspondence of John Henry Newman,

During His Life In The English Church, With A Brief Autobiography,

Edited by Anne Mozley, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1890.

Volume 1: Newman Reader | Internet Archive | NINS

Volume 2: Newman Reader | Internet Archive | NINS

Mozley's work was supplemented for the years 1839-1845 by the publication of

Correspondence of John Henry Newman

with John Keble and others, 1839-1845,

Edited at the Birmingham Oratory, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1917

Internet Archive

This volume consists of letters which, with a small number of exceptions, were not published by Mozley. It includes some passages in them which she omitted.

Newman's Life in Letters

After Cardinal Newman's death, the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory gave Wilfrid Ward access to the Cardinal's letters and other papers, and he used them in writing the following biography:

Life of John Henry Cardinal Newman,

Based on his Private Journals and Correspondence,

Wilfrid Ward, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912

Volume 1: Newman Reader | Internet Archive | NINS

Volume 2: Newman Reader | Internet Archive | NINS

"The chief material for the biography consists in Newman's journals and diaries and in the immense mass of letters collected and arranged by his literary executor, the late Father Neville. It includes likewise groups of his letters arranged and annotated by the writer himself."

Later publications also presented Newman's life in letters:

A packet of letters:

a Selection from the Correspondence of John Henry Newman,

Edited by Joyce Sugg, Clarendon Press, 1983

Internet Archive

The Introduction describes how Newman letters were collected over the decades, beginning with Newman's own efforts.

and

John Henry Newman: a Portrait in Letters,

Edited by Roderick Strange, Oxford University Press, 2015

Internet Archive

"My brief has been, to prepare this work from the thirty-two volumes of Newman's letters that began to be published in 1961 and whose publication was completed in 2008. That is the rich mine which this book quarries. [The editor prefers "Profile in Letters" over "Life in Letters."]

Letters and Diaries Collection

The NINS Digital Collections website says of this collection: "Oxford University Press, Letters and Diaries, published in 32 volumes from 1961 to 2008, taken from Newman's original handwritten manuscripts found in the Birmingham Oratory and other locations."

Oratorian Father Charles Stephen Dessain (1907–1976) was Archivist of the Birmingham Oratory and editor or co-editor of volumes 11 to 31, covering Newman's Catholic years (the Catholic volumes were done first because of Mozley's work). He was succeeded as Archivist by Mr. Gerard Tracey (1954-2003), who edited or co-edited volumes 6 to 9 and assisted as Archivist with volumes 1 to 5.

The letters in this collection range in date from 1808 to 1890. On 3 June 1808 Newman, at age 7, wrote from boarding school to "Dear Mamma" to inform her of an upcoming Vacation. On 8 August 1890 he responded to a letter from his niece Grace Langford inviting her to visit him. Grace was the only child of Newman's estranged sister Harriet who had died in 1853. Grace came to see him on 9 August. Newman fell ill the next day and died on 11 August 1890.

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Anglican Years (Volumes 1 to 10)

Letters and Diaries of John Henry Newman,

Volume 1, Ealing, Trinity, Oriel, Feb 1801 to Dec 1826,

Edited by Ian Ker, CO, and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1978) NINS

Volume 2, Tutor of Oriel, Jan 1827 to Dec 1831,

Edited by Ian Ker, CO, and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1979) NINS

Volume 3, New Bearings, Jan 1832 to June 1833,

Edited by Ian Ker, CO, and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1979) NINS

Volume 4, The Oxford Movement, Jul 1833 to Dec 1834,

Edited by Ian Ker, CO, and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1980) NINS

Volume 5, Liberalism in Oxford, Jan 1835 to Dec 1836,

Edited by Thomas Gornall, SJ (1981) NINS

Volume 6, The Via Media and Froude's Remains, Jan 1837 to Dec 1838,

Edited by Gerard Tracey (1984) NINS

Volume 7, Editing the "British Critic," Jan 1839 to Dec 1840,

Edited by Gerard Tracey (1995) NINS

Volume 8, Tract 90 and the Jerusalem Bishopric, Jan 1841 to Apr 1842,

Edited by Gerard Tracey (1999) NINS

Volume 9, Littlemore and the Parting of Friends, May 1842 to Oct 1843, Edited by Francis J McGrath, FMS, assisted by Gerard Tracey (2006) NINS

Volume 10, The Final Step, 1 Nov 1843 to 6 Oct 1845,

Edited by Francis J McGrath, FMS (2006) NINS

NOTE: Volume 32, Supplement, published in 2008, includes letters from the Anglican years, 1830-1845, on pages 3 to 29.

Catholic Years (Volumes 11 to 31)

Letters and Diaries of John Henry Newman,

Volume 11, Littlemore to Rome, Oct 1845 to Dec 1846,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1961) NINS

Volume 12, Rome to Birmingham, Jan 1847 to Dec 1848,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1962) NINS

Volume 13, Birmingham and London, Jan 1849 to Jun 1850,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1963) NINS

Volume 14, Papal aggression, Jul 1850 to Dec 1851,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Vincent Ferrer Blehl, SJ (1963) NINS

Volume 15, The Achilli trial, Jan 1852 to Dec 1853,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Vincent Ferrer Blehl, SJ (1964) NINS

Volume 16, Founding of a university, Jan 1854 to Sep 1855,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1964) NINS

Volume 17, Opposition in Dublin and London, Oct 1855 to Mar 1857,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1967) NINS

Volume 18, New Beginnings in England, Apr 1857 to Dec 1858,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1968) NINS

Volume 19, Consulting the Laity, Jan 1859 to Jun 1861,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1969) NINS

Volume 20, Standing Firm amid Trials, Jul 1861 to Dec 1863,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1970) NINS

Volume 21, The Apologia, Jan 1864 to Jun 1865,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Edward E Kelly, SJ (1971) NINS

Volume 22, Between Pusey and the extremists, Jul 1865 to Dec 1866,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain (1972) NINS

Volume 23, Defeat at Oxford, deference at Rome, Jan to Dec 1867,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1973) NINS

Volume 24, A Grammar of Assent, Jan 1868 to Dec 1869,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1973) NINS

Volume 25, The Vatican Council, Jan 1870 to Dec 1871,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1973) NINS

Volume 26, Aftermaths, Jan 1872 to Dec 1873,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1974) NINS

Volume 27, The Controversy with Gladstone, Jan 1874 to Dec 1875,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1975) NINS

Volume 28, Fellow of Trinity, Jan 1876 to Dec 1878,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1975) NINS

Volume 29, The Cardinalate, Jan 1879 to Sep 1881,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1976) NINS

Volume 30, A Cardinal's Apostolate, Oct 1881 to Dec 1884,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1976) NINS

Volume 31, The last years, Jan 1885 to Aug 1890,

with a supplement of addenda to vols. 11-30,

Edited by Charles Stephen Dessain and Thomas Gornall, SJ (1977) NINS

The addenda includes 174 letters that surfaced too late for inclusion in earlier Catholic volumes.

Volume 32, Supplement,
Edited by Francis J McGrath, SJ (2008) NINS

This volume contains more than 520 letters, spanning the years 1830 to 1890, that came to light after publication of the previous volumes.