Purcell's two-volume life is invaluable because of the primary documents it contains in abundance. However the author was a partisan of Newman and displays what could only be described as hatred of Ward, and his ambivalence to his subject, Manning, leaves a very sour taste in the mouth. So blatant was his injustice to Manning that a French Protestant wrote a short Life in the form of a refutation of Purcell!

It's well worth reading: http://www.archive.org/details/purcells ... 00presgoog