A Friend In Deed

The Life of Henry Stanley Newman

Maggie Waldman

A fascinating biography of Quaker philanthropist Henry Stanley Newman: educator, entrepreneur, minister and missionary.

Best known as the longest-serving editor of The Friend, Henry Stanley Newman was a true Victorian: energetic, outward-looking and civic-minded. Born a grocer’s son and raised to conform to a quiet form of Quakerism, he broke the mould with his evangelism at home and abroad. He paved the way for reviving the religion during a turbulent and potentially divisive time in its history.

But it was his passion for the life-changing power of education that really set him apart. Henry Stanley Newman cared deeply for young people. Through the Leominster Orphan Homes, the Orphans’ Printing Press and the Leominster Adult Schools, he helped transform a town. 

This is the story of an ordinary life, extraordinarily well lived.

About the Author

Maggie Waldman worked in social services and the voluntary sector for twenty years, before establishing a successful second career in the film and television industry.

A former head of development and acquisitions at Majestic Films and the Little Bird Company, she also worked as a freelance script editor, producer and development consultant before retiring in 2021. Now she pursues her interest in social and local history, arts and gardening. She was the recipient of the 2017 Margaret Bennett Small Research Award to facilitate her research into the life of Henry Stanley Newman.