The purpose of this book, according to its author, Margaret H. Turnham, is to examine the “changing nature of English Catholic devotion in the period 1779–1992 as seen through the lens of the diocese of Middlesbrough” (1). In this statement, we have both the strength and major weakness of this study. In effect, this is an enlightening regional study of the Catholic Church in North and East Riding of Yorkshire over the course of two centuries of struggle, change, and growth. What it is not is an examination of Catholic faith and practice in England during that time, as the title indicates. The reader senses that the publisher perhaps named the book in an attempt to reach a wider audience when the material contained therein was obviously regional and, frankly, diocesan, in scope.

The clear sign of a disparity between content and title is that the use of diocesan archive materials is limited to Middlesbrough and a few sources from Leeds. Thus, one wonders how a book can provide the geographical overview promised in the title with no sampling of archival materials from outside of the limited northeast region that is the lens for the study. While Turnham cites some sources, promulgated from Westminster, that apply to the entirety of the Catholic Church of England and Wales, she provides no primary evidence from other dioceses encountering the same struggles and employing similar strategies and practices, including dioceses with larger and more diverse Catholic populations such as those in northwest England. For example, after a very useful and detailed examination of Richard Lacy's episcopate in chapter three, Turnham asserts that what Lacy did for the Middlesbrough diocese, especially in terms of devotional practices, was representative of what occurred across the spectrum of English Catholicism. Perhaps it was, but making that claim requires corroborating evidence from those other dioceses. A secondary concern stems from Turnham's convincing case that certain unique factors, such as a homogenous class structure in the diocese of Middlesbrough, allowed for the development of distinctive devotional practices, including the popular annual Corpus Christi procession though the city. If this is the case, then what happened in Middlesbrough, Hull, and York may not be wholly representative of Catholicism elsewhere, which then argues against the central premise of the book.

This central contradiction detracts from what is otherwise an important contribution to the historiography of modern English Catholicism in that the book commendably turns its gaze away from the more prevalent narratives that have surrounded the work of Cardinals Wiseman, Manning, and Vaughan. Thus, if viewed as an examination of English Catholicism's renewal and revival in an understudied region of the country, the book comes much closer to hitting its mark.

The Victorian section of the book suffers from a few missteps, most notably the claims that the early focus of the church was on building churches (it was on building schools) and that the Education Act of 1870 made primary education compulsory (it did not). As a result, the chapters focused on the twentieth century make a more substantial contribution to our understanding of the church. Turnham's strength is clearly the episcopates of Lacy (1879–1929) and his successors, where her analysis of evolving devotional practices is most vivid. While his thoughts and rhetoric on matters of faith and education did not differ much from that of his peers (such as Robert Cornthwaite in nearby Leeds, Bernard O'Reilly in Liverpool, or Herbert Vaughan in Salford/Manchester), Bishop Lacy, who was a bridge to the next generation of post-Victorian bishops, focused on building a church community that was relevant and responsive to the needs of the people. Turnham explains how Leo XIII's 1891 papal bull Rerum Novarum led to a more socially active church by elevating its level of mission and evangelism both before and, mainly, after the First World War through the use of popular practices such as public processions, Marian devotions, and overseas pilgrimages, especially to Rome and Lourdes. This was a time, she argues, when the English Catholic Church's internal focus evolved into one that was external and proselytistic.

Also Irish-born, Thomas Shine, Lacy's successor from 1929 to 1955, moved the diocese in a decidedly Irish direction, reflecting both the large numbers of Irish in the diocese and his place as part of a generation of Irishmen influenced by the events of 1916 and the subsequent creation of the Republic. The devotional development continued under Bishop Shine, as did brick and mortar expansion to accommodate migratory Catholic workers. Turnham carefully and subtly explains that Shine's contribution to the “fortress church” mentality in the diocese ultimately made the church more fragile at mid-century, in contrast to the older historiographical narrative of mid-century strength before Vatican II.

In the last chapter, on how the Second Vatican Council challenged and changed worship and devotional practices, Turnham argues that the hierarchy saw this vast disruption as an opportunity to de-Irishize the church, break “the bond between Irish patriotism and Catholicism and [replace] it with an ‘English’ Catholicism” (160). This compelling claim should be one of the cornerstones of the last quarter of the book; however, it is only substantiated by the words of one source, a Catholic journalist who grew up in Middlesbrough, and lacks corroboration from the institutional side. Yet this fascinating chapter on the radicalism of the liturgical changes from lay participation to music during the mass reveals a church in the northeast in transition. The unpreparedness of the clergy and the lack of adequate explanation to parishioners by the clergy for the changes that followed in the wake of Vatican II further destabilized the church in an age of growing religious ambivalence. This chapter points to the need for a general history from 1963 to the present.

While Turnham never really reconciles how education fit into the role of revivalism and renewal, and while there are some historiographical gaps on that particular subtheme, she has contributed a needed and original regional piece to our understanding of the Catholic puzzle in modern England.