Newman Studies Journal

As Cardinal Wiseman's coadjutor with right of succession, George Errington (1804–86) was the man who should have become the next Archbishop of Westminster after the Cardinal's death. By implication, he would have become the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England. Yet after the death of Cardinal Wiseman, Henry Edward Manning (1808–92) acceded to the episcopal throne. In this OUP monograph, Serenhedd James tells this story with flare and verve.

James has no doubt given students and scholars of nineteenth-century Catholicism a book to be reckoned with. The book is a page-turner, delving into a host of ecclesiastical controversies in which the priorities of various churchmen confront each other head-on. The book makes for pleasant reading, not so much because of its theological analysis (or lack thereof, as will be discussed below), but because of the gripping historical narrative. James has consulted a host of archival materials and has used a plethora of letters and papers—some made public only recently—to dive deeply into the figure of George Errington and the controversies in which he was embroiled. James depicts Errington as compassionate, kind, strict, savvy, thrifty, principled, and intelligent. The story contains ecclesiastical intrigue, manifestations of heroic virtue, and moments of irony. The events and characters in nineteenth-century English Catholicism are noteworthy, and James takes advantage.

The first chapter gives a historical survey of English Catholicism from the Elizabethan settlement until Errington's birth. While spending perhaps unnecessary time on the details of the penal laws, the chapter traces the recusant stock from which Errington was born. The chapter contextualizes the stereotypical tension between the "Old" (i.e., recusant) Catholics and the "New" (i.e., convert) Catholics that would come to a head during the Oxford Movement. While numerous scholars have sought to explain with this tension the many conflicts and altercations among various English Catholics throughout history, James relativizes the role played by this rivalry between Old and New and draws the reader's attention to other factors, such as an individual's shortcomings in virtue or different theological priorities. [End Page 79]

Chapter 2 is a thorough and entertaining status quaestionis regarding scholarship on Errington. James clearly has a mastery of his sources. The chapter, however, is not for the novice. Here one comes across the Errington "case" and his "dealings" at St. Edmund's, but the reader unfamiliar with Errington's life will have to be patient until finding out that the former refers to Errington's dismissal from his position as coadjutor, and that the latter refers to his opposition to W. G. Ward and the Oblates at the diocesan seminary.

The story of Errington unfolds in Chapters 3–6, which tell us of the stunningly similar paths trod by Wiseman and his childhood friend Errington. Both began at Ushaw, continued their studies in Rome, completed those studies with acclaim, and began working in tandem: first at the English College, then at Oscott, and later, again, at Westminster. A large portion of the book is dedicated to probing the fallout between these close friends and collaborators. James's assessment is nuanced: while Errington is the victim of injustice, James refrains, unlike other scholars, from lampooning Manning and, instead, places the bulk of the blame on Nicholas Wiseman and George Talbot: Wiseman for his negligence and ineptitude, and Talbot for his machinations in Rome.

Chapters 7 and 8 discuss Errington's life after his removal as coadjutor: how he, still as an Archbishop, continued to find ways to occupy himself pastorally on the Isle of Man, how he refused Rome's plea for him to spearhead the restoration of the Scottish hierarchy, and how he made himself the rallying point of the English party of "inopportunists" at the Vatican Council.

While James's account is well-written, informative, and entertaining, this reader found that the thrilling narrative comes at the cost of theological...