The Inquisition's Inquisitor

The first comprehensive biography of Philadelphias Henry C. Lea (18251909): historian, publisher, political activist, and reformer Writing in 1868, the Philadelphia publisher-cum-historian Henry Charles Lea informed a friend, I am trying to collect the materials for a history of the Inquisition. The collecting of these materialsbooks, manuscripts, and copies of thousands of pages of documents housed in musty European archives and librarieswould occupy Lea (18251909) for the remainder of his life. It also led to publication of A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages (188487) and his acknowledged masterpiece, A History of the Inquisition of Spain (19067). Regarded as classics, these path-breaking books inaugurated better understanding of the history of an institution whose aims and methods troubled Lea and remain subjects of heated debate. The first biography of Lea since 1931, The Inquisitions Inquisitor offers the most comprehensive review to date of his writing on the history of the Catholic Church. Though Lea is generally regarded as a leading practitioner of scientific history, Richard L. Kagan examines the extent to which Leas religious convictions compromised the ostensibly objective character of his work. Leas extensive surviving correspondence also enables Kagan to examine other aspects of Leas long and productive career as one of Philadelphias most prominent citizens. Lea appears here a young literary critic; a businessman who skillfully transformed his familys publishing firm into the countrys leading producer of medical books; a dogged political reformer; and a philanthropist whose largesse benefitted many of Philadelphias cultural institutions. Newly discovered sources also allow for insights into Leas private life, notably his controversial infatuation with his first cousin and future wife, Anna C. Jaudon, and the periodic breakdowns that required abandonment of his beloved intellectual pursuits. The Inquisitions Inquisitor concludes with a survey of Leas legacy with respect to current understanding of the Inquisition and to Philadelphia, where reminders of his accomplishments include an eponymous library at the University of Pennsylvania and public elementary school in nearby West Philadelphia.