- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Bantam (Mar 18 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0553812564
- ISBN-13: 978-0553812565
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 2.2 x 17.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 200 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Holy Saints Magdalen Home for Wayward Girls and Fallen Women was a prisonlike institution in Dublin where unmarried pregnant women were sent in shame until they delivered, after which, without exception, the church took their babies away for adoption. In 1951, Esther Doyle of rural Connemara has no thoughts of such a place when she escapes her grim home life her drunken fisherman father is drowned, and her mother can't cope with Esther's young retarded sister for a brief romance that leaves her pregnant. In desperation, she turns to the Home, where she soon discovers that living conditions are nearly unbearable. The mostly unsympathetic and even cruel nuns oversee a sweatshop-like laundry in which women slave every day except on Sundays. The nuns refer to them as "penitents," but the women sardonically called themselves "Maggies." Through it all, the women are bolstered by their camaraderie. After Esther has her baby, reluctantly surrendering it, she leaves but refuses to return to her family, which has rejected her. The first half of the book, telling of Esther's beginnings, rings true, but it is familiar and overlong. The real tale is the story of the Magdalen Home, a cruel institution the church maintained into the mid-20th century. The straightforward writing is without flourish, but the story is powerful and moving and Esther's unhappy experience will remain with the reader. (Mar.)same story was dramatized by Patricia Burke Brogan in a popular play, Eclipsed, first performed in Great Britain in 1992.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.Review
“The story is powerful and moving and Esther’s unhappy experience will remain with the reader.”—Publishers Weekly
"This book pulls no punches . . . Marita Conlon-McKenna is breaking new ground with The Magdalen." --Image
"[The Magdalen is] a pretty grim read although the solidarity of the women and their enduring will for survival is an inspiration." --U Magazine
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First Sentence
Esther heard the cry, clear across the scattered fields of Carraig Beag, the voice catching on the iodine-scented breeze blowing in from the wild Atlantic Ocean, and knew straight away that it was her mother, calling her, needing her. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Esther heard the cry, clear across the scattered fields of Carraig Beag, the voice catching on the iodine-scented breeze blowing in from the wild Atlantic Ocean, and knew straight away that it was her mother, calling her, needing her. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
powerful historical morality tale,
By
This review is from: The Magdalen (Paperback)
In 1952 Dublin in the birthing room of the Sisters of the Holy Saints Magdalen Home for Wayward Girls and Fallen Women, between contractions Esther Doyle thinks back on how she ended amongst the abandoned. Esther knows that in spite of her family rejection due to her unmarried pregnancy and her lover's betrayal she is a good person. From western Ireland, since arriving in the grim place, she wonders if she will ever see the ocean with her child. Esther has earned her room, board, and medical assistance doing laundry while waiting the birth. She knows her child will reside next door in the almost as grim orphanage, but at least the infant will have sustenance. However, she knows her unborn will receive little else as even the nuns reject the infant's innocence in spite their lofty calling. Still Esther has learned from her sister "Maggies" and dreams of a life for herself with her child outside this convent prison. With the acceptance of out of wedlock children in recent years, THE MAGDALEN may seem obsolete, but instead, the novel is a powerful historical tale that sheds a light on 1950s morality. The story line brilliantly written in a first person dialogue enables the audience to feel all that Esther feels as she garners empathy from modern day readers to the plights of her and her soon to be born child in a world that condemns even the blameless. Marita Conlon-Mckenna provides fans of mid twentieth century historical novels with a juggernaut of a morality tale that is one of the genre's best in recent years. Harriet Klausner
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wayward Girls and Fallen Women,
By
This review is from: The Magdalen (Paperback)
Esther Doyle is unmarried and pregnant, in the rustic, rural town of Connemara. Her lover has jilted her at the first words of the unwanted pregnancy. Esther is left alone to deal with the scandal. However, the only people Esther expected help from, her family, are ashamed and resentful. Her mother and brothers banish her from the home, sending her to Dublin.Esther's new home is The Magdalen Home for Wayward and Fallen Home. A laundry, run by nuns, is where she will earn her keep. When her nine months have passed, her baby will taken from her and given up for adoption. Esther and the other women work long, hard hours on their feet and are under the constant watch of the nuns. The women live the lives of prisoners. There is no recreation, no fun. The women are there to pay penance for their sins and ask God for forgiveness. However, these women, otherwise knows as "The Maggies" manage to form strong frienships. Their companionship allows Esther to fight her way out of a deep depression and struggle to reclaim her life. The Maggies help Esther to realize that her baby deserves a happy life and so does she. I have read quite a few books about the famous "Magdalen Laundries" that were once popular in Ireland. Many are dark and depressing. However, The Magdalen, is slightly more uplifting than most. Of course, this is not exactly a happy story, but these laundries did exist and it is something that many people have never heard of.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful book,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Magdalen (Paperback)
I recommended this book to many friends & relatives - it was such a good story. The main character Esther is very likable. She's a strong character with human flaws & your heart goes out to her. The book shows how unfair the double standard is for women vs men in many ways. I just loved it. Every part in the book keeps your interest - makes you want to keep reading until the end. For a woman to become pregnant before she's married in those times & in such a Catholic country could lead a woman to be treated so unfairly by todays general standards in the US. Again, I highly recommend this book. I don't want to say anymore without ruining the story!
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