Life in the Grey Nunnery at Montreal

Life in the Grey Nunnery at
Montreal

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Title: Life in the Grey Nunnery at Montreal
Author: Sarah J Richardson
Release Date: May, 2004 [EBook #5734] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on August 18, 2002]

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Language: English
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A brief note about the Project Gutenberg edition of Life in the Grey
Nunnery at Montreal.
Life in the Grey Nunnery was first published in Boston, in 1857 by
Edward P. Hood, who was credited as the book's editor. It is likely that
this account is by Sarah J. Richardson "as told to" Edward Hood,
though it may in fact be completely fictional. It is clearly an
anti-Catholic book, an example of the genre of fiction referred to as
"the convent horror story." Anti-Catholic sentiments were common in
the United States during the middle part of the 1800s probably directed
at the relatively large number of Catholic immigrants arriving from
Germany, and particularly Ireland during this period. These sentiments
resulted in riots and the burning of churches, including the destruction
by a mob of the Ursuline convent and girl's school in Charlestown
Massachusetts. During this period a powerful nationalist political party
the "Know Nothings" also emerged, and won a number of influential
positions in the 1850s, particularly in New England. They succeeded in
creating legislation hostile to the Catholic church, barring Catholics
from various positions and requiring Catholic institutions to submit to
hostile "inspections." The interested reader is encouraged to use a
literature search for the terms MARIA MONK or KNOW NOTHINGS
to learn more about this genre of literature and the social circumstances
in which it was created.

LIFE IN THE GREY NUNNERY AT MONTREAL

An authentic narrative of the horrors, mysteries, and cruelties of
convent life by Sarah J. Richardson, an escaped nun.
Edited by Edward P. Hood

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
PARENTAGE--FATHER'S MARRIAGE
CHAPTER II
THE WHITE NUNNERY
CHAPTER III
THE NURSERY
CHAPTER IV
A SLAVE FOR LIFE
CHAPTER V
CEREMONY OF CONFIRMATION
CHAPTER VI
THE GREY NUNNERY
CHAPTER VII
ORPHAN'S HOME
CHAPTER VIII
CONFESSION AND SORROW OF NO AVAIL
CHAPTER IX
ALONE WITH THE DEAD
CHAPTER X
THE SICK NUN
CHAPTER XI
THE JOY OF FREEDOM
CHAPTER XII
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
CHAPTER XIII
LANDLADY'S STORY CONTINUED
CHAPTER XIV
THE TWO SISTERS
CHAPTER XV

CHOICE OF PUNISHMENTS
CHAPTER XVI
HORRORS OF STARVATION
CHAPTER XVII
THE TORTURE ROOM
CHAPTER XVIII
RETURN TO THE NUNNERY
CHAPTER XIX
SICKNESS AND DEATH OF A SUPERIOR
CHAPTER XX
STUDENTS AT THE ACADEMY
CHAPTER XXI
SECOND ESCAPE FROM THE NUNNERY
CHAPTER XXII
LONELY MIDNIGHT WALK
CHAPTER XXIII
FLIGHT AND RECAPTURE
CHAPTER XXIV
RESOLVES TO ESCAPE
CHAPTER XXV
EVENTFUL JOURNEY
CHAPTER XXVI
CONCLUSION
APPENDIX I ABSURDITIES OF ROMANISTS APPENDIX II
CRUELTY OF ROMANISTS APPENDIX III INQUISITION OF
GOA--IMPRISONMENT OF M. DELLON, 1673 APPENDIX IV
INQUISITION OF GOA, CONCLUDED APPENDIX V
INQUISITION AT MACERATA, ITALY APPENDIX VI
ROMANISM OF THE PRESENT DAY APPENDIX VII
NARRATIVE OP SIGNORINA FLORIENCIA D' ROMANI

LIFE IN THE GREY NUNNERY.

CHAPTER I
.
PARENTAGE.--FATHER'S MARRIAGE.

I was born at St. John's, New Brunswick, in the year 1835. My father
was from the city of Dublin, Ireland, where he spent his youth, and
received an education in accordance with the strictest rules of Roman
Catholic faith and practice. Early manhood, however, found him
dissatisfied with his native country, longing for other scenes and distant
climes. He therefore left Ireland, and came to Quebec.
Here he soon became acquainted with Capt. Willard, a wealthy English
gentleman, who, finding him a stranger in a strange land, kindly opened
his door, and gave him employment and a home. Little did