San John Henry Newman: Un ensayo biográfico by Victor García Ruiz

Abstract

Reviewed by: San John Henry Newman: Un ensayo biográfico by Victor García Ruiz Paula Jullian San John Henry Newman: Un ensayo biográfico BY VICTOR GARCÍA RUIZ Primera edición. Madrid: Editorial San Pablo, 2020. 472 pages. Paperback: $38. ISBN: 9788428558709. Víctor García Ruiz is one of the most renowned and prolific translators of Saint John Henry's works into Spanish. He has made many of his writings accessible to his Hispanic admirers with fine translations, including the Apologia, The Idea of a University, the Parochial and Plain Sermons, and a selected collection of his letters among others. Now, he inspires us once again with this remarkable biography. We may wonder, what else can be said about a life of which so much has already been written? In the introduction the writer asks himself the same question and gives an unexpected response. He alerts his readers that this is not a biography, but rather a "Biographical Essay." He justifies his choice of this rather atypical literary genre arguing [End Page 83] that this format gives him greater freedom in the presentation of the facts and allows him to move back and forth in time, to render a more thematic exposition than a systematic chronological sequence of events. However, despite his stylistic warning, the manuscript may be fairly classified as a biography—and a very good one. By definition, the essay is not an impersonal piece of writing. One of its literary properties is that the writer is entitled to take a stance on the issue at hand and so, to put forward his own views. That is very much what the reader will find in this extended essay. The author's voice can be clearly heard throughout the narrative, addressing and dialoguing with his readers, along with making remarks and offering his own personal assessment of the matters. This original approach results in a fresh outlook of a biography that otherwise could have sounded like a well-known and repetitive story. Because of these distinct traits, this new title does not resemble, nor does it compete with any other publications, but rather represents a piece of literature of a different nature and places itself in a position that is not really comparable to prior ones. Given the author's long trajectory with Newman's works, he moves with familiarity among them, and, in this case, uses them masterfully to reconstruct his life, especially his Letters and Diaries. The text is rich in extracts that have been rarely cited. Yet, despite their abundance, it is not a tiresome and over-quoted script. On the contrary, it makes a light and pleasant read in which the excerpts get neatly interwoven in the narrative, so that we may say that to some extent Newman himself also takes part in the recount of his own life. In addition to these unique qualities concerning style, it is striking in the novelty of its content. It is a well-documented manuscript, in which besides using Newman's materials lavishly, the author turns to numerous historical and literary sources, both of Newman's contemporaries as well as more modern ones. The foundation of the exposition on such resources gives credibility to the factual biographical data he presents and supports the claims he makes. Naturally, together with the recount of our saint's life, the social and political circumstances of nineteenth-century Britain are reported, and at times explained, thus setting a broader picture than his own life, to understand the context in which he lived. However, undoubtedly one of the most attractive features of the exposition lies in that it is sprinkled with little-known details and memorable anecdotes of the people, places, and occurrences that characterized those days. The author offers a few brushstrokes of the personality, deeds, and even fun facts of the multitude of his friends, acquaintances, and even notorious characters he came across. Likewise, with the physical background, the volume is clearly based on much in situ research since, as the story unfolds, the author presents us with vivid descriptions of the locations he frequented, so that we may figure out the buildings and landscapes that surrounded his...