Why I Became A Nun !

[chameleon54]

I stumbled across this article while doing some research on an antique book. Found it quite interesting.

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/15/nuns-and-sisters-christianity-religion-convent-stories

Is the order of sisterhood still valid and viable in the modern world ? 

[not_for_sale2025]

I have a cousin who became a nun because she fell in love with an aboriginal boy and her parents refused to support the relationship. While a nun, she fell in love with a priest and they absconded together into the wild blue yonder. To my knowledge they are still together and happy, but I don't think her family mentioned her name too often. Good luck to her I say.

[chameleon54]

The book I was researching was written in the 1870,s and details the experiences of a young nun who eventually left the sisterhood. I dont normally read the books I sell, but this one is amazing. Basically nothing has changed in the last 150 years in the Catholic Church.

The young nun attracted the attention of a new priest. She declined his advances until he eventually drugged her with the intention of raping her. She managed to drag herself to a common area and was whisked away for a few days. When she reported the attempted rape to a senior priest he told her it wasnt the young priests fault, he hadnt sinned and she should keep quiet about the whole thing. She was chastised for making a fuss and then sent straight back to the same convent where the attack occured.

If she refused to go, the other alternative was imprisonment in the mental assylum for nuns, run by the church. After further attention from the offending priest, she made a daring escape. Destitute and friendless, she placed an advert in a local paper seeking work as a house maid. A wealthy woman came to her motel and offered her work as a companion and house keeper. Once at the wealthy womans house she was locked in a room and offered up to a gentleman as a prostitute. Her first client just happened to be a priest.

Again she escaped ( with virtue intact ) and contacted her sister who made arrangements for the police to arrest the date rape, drug offending young priest who by this time had been promoted to a higher position within the church. The media got wind of the story and started to report on it. The church again urged the nun to silence in order to protect the reputation of the Catholic Church, eventually offering her money to buy her silence and arranging to send the offending priest to another area where no-one knew him.

The book was written in 1871 but does it all sound familiar ???

[hannahmallory]

What is the book?

[tezza2844]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

The book I was researching was written in the 1870,s and details the experiences of a young nun who eventually left the sisterhood. I dont normally read the books I sell, but this one is amazing. Basically nothing has changed in the last 150 years in the Catholic Church.

The young nun attracted the attention of a new priest. She declined his advances until he eventually drugged her with the intention of raping her. She managed to drag herself to a common area and was whisked away for a few days. When she reported the attempted rape to a senior priest he told her it wasnt the young priests fault, he hadnt sinned and she should keep quiet about the whole thing. She was chastised for making a fuss and then sent straight back to the same convent where the attack occured.

If she refused to go, the other alternative was imprisonment in the mental assylum for nuns, run by the church. After further attention from the offending priest, she made a daring escape. Destitute and friendless, she placed an advert in a local paper seeking work as a house maid. A wealthy woman came to her motel and offered her work as a companion and house keeper. Once at the wealthy womans house she was locked in a room and offered up to a gentleman as a prostitute. Her first client just happened to be a priest.

Again she escaped ( with virtue intact ) and contacted her sister who made arrangements for the police to arrest the date rape, drug offending young priest who by this time had been promoted to a higher position within the church. The media got wind of the story and started to report on it. The church again urged the nun to silence in order to protect the reputation of the Catholic Church, eventually offering her money to buy her silence and arranging to send the offending priest to another area where no-one knew him.

The book was written in 1871 but does it all sound familiar ???

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I don't think Motels were a place in the 1870's, so just on that point I would be a bit sus about the story. There is a book about a nun who left an Irish Order in Wagga Wagga in NSW in the 1920's. There was a great deal of tension between the local parish and families and some of the anti-Catholic and anti-Irish groups of the time (eg The Masonic Lodges comes to mind) with both sides getting up to all sorts of skulduggery.  At the time a lot of this caused by Ireland being broken into Eire(Very Catholic) and Northern Ireland(very Protestant) , although Eire(Southern Ireland remained a member of the Commonwealth). A lot of the tension was fueled by claims that Irish-Australians did not do a lot to help the British Empire during WW1. Although every family in Australia regardless of Ancestry gave and suffered a lot during this period.

https://www.theextraordinarycaseofsisterliguori.com/

[chameleon54]

Motel, Boarding House ? I was summarising the story line, not quoting from the book.

The book title, " Convent life unveiled, by Edith O,Gorman, The Escaped nun." , The book and storyline is genuine and a google search will show it has had many reprints and still available new. The copy I have ( found at a garage sale on the weekend for $1.00 ) is the first Australian edition, ( second edition ) dated 1886. Value around $80 - $100 in this condition, but will probably go into my private collection. Definately worth buying a copy and having a read if you are interested in history.

[martinw-48]

The path to true enlightenment is paved with the corpses of believers

[springyzone]

I read a story written by a nun who eventually left the order. It was set probably back in the 1930's? Not sure.

It was a very interesting read, not because there were any sexual advances or anything in it, but more for the look at the way of life from that time, very regulated.

They only had one change of underwear a week and so on.

Meals  were basic and there was no such thing as catering to different tastes or food intolerances.

Not an easy life, but I don't suppose it was for anyone during the era of the Great Depression.

[tezza2844]

Sounds like you had a good find. I always find garage sales interesting as you often find differant and interesting stuff at them. I 've added a few web postings that may be interesting for your research into the book and its author. Let me know if during your research a modern day person by the of Helen Demidenko (Helen Dale) crops up, some of her writings have a similiar theme.

 http://www.19thcenturyphotos.com/Edith-O'Gorman-126230.htm

https://beatimundocorde.wordpress.com/tag/edith-ogorman/

http://thehistorybucket.blogspot.com/2012/05/nuns-on-run.html

[chameleon54]

Thanks Tezza, Fact, Fiction or somewhere in between the book is a great read. I mainly research items to establish their value to sell on ebay. It can be a bit tricky when very few are listed for sale or reported sold, but this little book has got me in. The story is very well written and makes compelling reading.

In the past I had a very nice collection of antique books. It was divided into two main groups, one being first editions of early Australian explorers and early aboriginal books, the other signed editions of Australian artists books. Unfortunately I had to sell the explorers and aboriginal books to pay the kids school tuition fees.

I have kept the Australian artists books and will leave a couple of the best to my kids. I just hope they come to realise the signifigance and beauty of the books. My daughter gets " The Wild Flowers of South Australia " By F De Mole. This was the first S.A wildflower book, published in the early 1860,s. It contains 20 hand painted, gilt lithographs and is very beautiful. Signed by the author, around 100 printed and probably less than a dozen of these still in existance so something a bit special.

The sons book is " The Art Of Fredrick McCubbin ", signed in pen and ink by the artist and with a letter on Australia's National Art Gallery stationary from the Author, detailing his experiences with Fredrick McCubbin.

At the moment the kids are still teenagers and dont get it. ( if it hasnt got a touch screen..... Not Interested !!! ).  I just hope by the time I clock off for the last time, they might see that I,m trying to pass on something beautiful and special to them and the books will become family heir looms.

Truth be known, they will probably end up in an auction somewhere with the proceeds used to pay for a week in Bali........