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The Mirror of True Womanhood: A Book of Instruction for Women in the World
Excerpt from The Mirror of True Womanhood
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books.
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. This text has been digitally restored from a historical edition. Some errors may persist, however we consider it worth publishing due to the work's historical value.
The digital edition of all books may be viewed on our website before purchase.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books.
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. This text has been digitally restored from a historical edition. Some errors may persist, however we consider it worth publishing due to the work's historical value.
The digital edition of all books may be viewed on our website before purchase.
- GenresNonfictionCatholic
489 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
About the author
Bernard O'Reilly
69 books5 followersRt. Rev. Fr. Monsignor Bernard O'Reilly, D.D., L.D.
Historian, b. 20 Sept., 1820, in County Mayo, Ireland; d. in New York, U.S.A. 26 April, 1907. In early life he emigrated to Canada, where in 1836 he entered Laval University. He was ordained priest in Quebec, 12 Sept., 1843, and ministered in several parishes of that diocese. He was one of the heroic priests who attended the plague-stricken Irish emigrants in the typhus-sheds along the St. Lawrence after the "black '47". Later he entered the Society of Jesus and was attached to St. John's College, Fordham, New York. When the Civil War broke out he went as a chaplain in the Irish Brigade and served with the Army of the Potomac during a large part of its campaigns. He then withdrew from the Jesuits and devoted himself to literature, becoming one of the editorial staff of the "New American Cyclopedia" to which he contributed articles on Catholic topics. At the conclusion of this work he travelled extensively in Europe, sending for several years an interesting series of letters to the New York "Sun". He lived for a long period in Rome where Pope Leo XIII, besides appointing him a prothonotary Apostolic in 1887, gave him the special materials for his "Life of Leo XIII" (New York, 1887). Among the many books he published these were notable: "Life of Pius IX" (1877); "Mirror of True Womanhood" (1876); "True Men" (1878); "Key of Heaven" (1878); "The Two Brides" (1879); "Life of John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam" (1890). On his return to New York from Europe he was made chaplain at the convent of Mount St. Vincent, where he spent the rest of his days. On the occasion of his sacerdotal jubilee he was given a signed testimonial of appreciation of his fellow priests and friends.
Historian, b. 20 Sept., 1820, in County Mayo, Ireland; d. in New York, U.S.A. 26 April, 1907. In early life he emigrated to Canada, where in 1836 he entered Laval University. He was ordained priest in Quebec, 12 Sept., 1843, and ministered in several parishes of that diocese. He was one of the heroic priests who attended the plague-stricken Irish emigrants in the typhus-sheds along the St. Lawrence after the "black '47". Later he entered the Society of Jesus and was attached to St. John's College, Fordham, New York. When the Civil War broke out he went as a chaplain in the Irish Brigade and served with the Army of the Potomac during a large part of its campaigns. He then withdrew from the Jesuits and devoted himself to literature, becoming one of the editorial staff of the "New American Cyclopedia" to which he contributed articles on Catholic topics. At the conclusion of this work he travelled extensively in Europe, sending for several years an interesting series of letters to the New York "Sun". He lived for a long period in Rome where Pope Leo XIII, besides appointing him a prothonotary Apostolic in 1887, gave him the special materials for his "Life of Leo XIII" (New York, 1887). Among the many books he published these were notable: "Life of Pius IX" (1877); "Mirror of True Womanhood" (1876); "True Men" (1878); "Key of Heaven" (1878); "The Two Brides" (1879); "Life of John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam" (1890). On his return to New York from Europe he was made chaplain at the convent of Mount St. Vincent, where he spent the rest of his days. On the occasion of his sacerdotal jubilee he was given a signed testimonial of appreciation of his fellow priests and friends.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 4, 2012
Fabulous book. One that every Catholic woman should read. Full of inspiration from the noble and virtuous and holy women who have come before us. Lighting the way for us to model our own lives, our own marriages, our own homes, our own motherhood, upon those virtues so dear and precious to our holy faith. Seeking always to imitate our Lord and bring those entrusted to our care to His loving embrace. Ah! What a truly glorious book. Harkening back to the times of our ancestors in the faith, inspiring us to live up to their example, as if by holding a mirror up to our own modern lives. The authors language is beautiful and poetic, gentle and intelligent. He weaves together stories of heroines and saints from all walks of life, to inspire the reader on her own path of sanctification and sainthood. Something he believes is not so rare or so impossible to attain. I will most certainly be reading this one again and again and again.
November 8, 2021
The five star rating is for the original which was 500+ pages long and absolutely gorgeous. Yes, some information is very dated and the audience was obviously a Canadian one but it was still beautifully written. A lot of what was written and advised I can apply to my very modern life in 2021. I’ll have to read the updated “modern” edition in a couple of weeks to compare the editions.
June 4, 2024
Typical religion interference: A religious male creature, a priest to be more exact, writing a book for women, dictating what duties women have in life, such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of the man and kids, labelling them as the weaker sex, et-bullshit-cetera.
Here, look at one of its hilarious chapters’ title:
“The true woman’s kingdom: the home”
I mean… LOL, right?
You could probably tell by now what kind of a sick book one should expect it to be. But wait! There’s more super disgusting stuff coming up:
“Woman’s entire existence, in order to be a source of happiness to others as well as to herself, must be one of self-sacrifice.”
”Men are born to be the providers in the home: they are formed by nature and still further fitted by education for every species of toil.”
”…[Woman] is made to grow up in the shade.”
Hahahahahahaha; what a clown!
You might not believe it but there are actually a few women, living in this century, loving and cherishing this piece of crap. I read some very saddening reviews from them about how great this book is and how every woman should keep a copy at home… Sighs…
Here, look at one of its hilarious chapters’ title:
“The true woman’s kingdom: the home”
I mean… LOL, right?
You could probably tell by now what kind of a sick book one should expect it to be. But wait! There’s more super disgusting stuff coming up:
“Woman’s entire existence, in order to be a source of happiness to others as well as to herself, must be one of self-sacrifice.”
”Men are born to be the providers in the home: they are formed by nature and still further fitted by education for every species of toil.”
”…[Woman] is made to grow up in the shade.”
Hahahahahahaha; what a clown!
You might not believe it but there are actually a few women, living in this century, loving and cherishing this piece of crap. I read some very saddening reviews from them about how great this book is and how every woman should keep a copy at home… Sighs…
September 4, 2026
✏️ Outstandings timeless guidance for women, even in today's difficult world 150 years on from when this was written. Recommended.
📕Published 1878. In the public domain.
જ⁀ 🔵 E-book version on Internet Archive.
༺༻▪️🕊️▪️༺༻▪️🕊️▪️༺༻▪️🕊️▪️༺༻
📕Published 1878. In the public domain.
જ⁀ 🔵 E-book version on Internet Archive.
༺༻▪️🕊️▪️༺༻▪️🕊️▪️༺༻▪️🕊️▪️༺༻
February 23, 2020
The Victorian sentimentalism made this unreadable for me. I got as far as the very saccharine account of St. Margaret of Scotland and had to give up.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews