The history of Cardinal Manning's biographies is a remarkable one. When he died, on 14 January 1892, 'no reputation ever appeared more secure,' as Mr Gray rightly says. His death occurred on the same day as that of the Duke of Clarence, who, had he lived, would have become King of England. Normally the passing of the next heir to the throne would attract much public attention, but it was completely eclipsed by the death of the Cardinal. After the Requiem Mass, despite the poor visibility caused by a London pea-souper, vast crowds lined the streets on the way from Brompton Oratory to the cemetery at Kensal Green. 'Their reaction,' writes Mr Gray, 'constituted perhaps the most striking, certainly the most spontaneous, demonstration of mass emotion that occurred in the capital during the Late Victorian period.'

LRB 23 January 1986 | PDF Download