John Henry Newman as a celebrity novelist?

A reader, writing in response to Timothy Larsen's "A Pious Fiction" (Christianity Today, July-August, 2016), says:

"I mostly liked this review in Books & Culture. On a book you recommended to me long ago. And what registers rating this reviewer's take is that Newman was in fact more the popular writer and cultural pundit than you might have thought, and maybe a bit of a celebrity novelist. I am not so sure "A Pious Fiction" isn't a gentle Protestant jab, but Catholics could roll with [Newman's novel,] CONVERSION: A NOVEL ACCOUNT [or, LOSS AND GAIN: The Story of a Convert][(University of Notre Dame Press: 2015)].