KIRKUS REVIEW
It is strange but undoubtedly true that Nicholas Wiseman, the first Cardinal-Archbishop of Westminster and contemporary of Cardinals Newman and Manning, is best remembered for his authorship of the novel about pagan Rome, Fabiola. This biography will do little to enlarge the reputation of a man who deserves better treatment. Unfortunately, the masterful books on Cardinal Newman by Meriol Trevor published within the last year (Pillar of the Cloud and Light in Winter, Doubleday) cannot help but overshadow this effort in scope, appreciation and readership. By contrast, the Wiseman book is pedestrian at best. Yet the story of Cardinal Wiseman is appropriate to these times. The foundations of the Catholic revival were among his most important contributions to the Church of his day, and the accounts of his conversions to the Church of Newman, Ward and others are certainly of extreme human interest. Scholar Fothergill buries them in a straightforward presentation which makes an exciting man's life ull.