In an article for the January 1864 edition of Macmillan's Magazine, Charles Kingsley accused the Catholic Church of being an arbiter of falsehoods. What would prove to be the most critical line is a direct attack against the famous Catholic convert, John Henry Newman, saying "Truth, for its own sake, had never been a virtue with the Roman clergy." To refute both Kingsley's accusation and prejudice against the Catholic Church, Newman published his autobiography, the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. But, the Apologia occupies an unusual position in the canon of Newman's works. While it is one of Newman's most famous works, some think that it was not written well, others that it is a dry text when compared to his rhetorical polemics, or that Newman did not adequately refute Kingsley's accusations, thus obscuring the literary accomplishments of the text. Further, some like Martin Svaglic argue that the Apologia is not an autobiography, while others like Linda Peterson argue that its place among Victorian autobiographies is firm. This thesis will argue that the perceived dryness of the text rests less in the book itself so much as it is a result of a misconception of the book's genre. By focusing on the titles that Newman gives the text, both the Latin translation of its common title, A Defense of One's Life, and the title given in the 1865 edition, A History of My Religious Opinions, Newman frames the text as something more than just an autobiography. This thesis will argue that the Apologia, along with being an autobiography, is also a defense of Newman's life, and as such Newman treats the text as a trial in the court of public opinion. Further, Newman's use of the word "history" rather than "autobiography" implies his understanding of the necessity to read his own life through the appropriate generic lens. By expanding our considerations of the text's genre, we might then ease some of the tension between its recognized importance and anomalous position within Newman's corpus and within a larger literary framework. This repositioning enables an understanding of the text as a response to a general prejudice against him and his religion.