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The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk. And The Mysteries of a Convent [microform]
Lurid and fictional tale of a woman's escape from a Montreal convent, the publication of which stirred anti-Catholic sentiment and discrimination against immigrants.
356 pages, Hardcover
Published September 9, 2021
3 people want to read
About the author
Maria Monk
36 books1 followerCanadian woman who claimed to have been a nun who had been sexually exploited in her convent.
Monk claimed that nuns of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph were forced to have sex with the priests in the seminary next door. The priests supposedly entered the convent through a secret tunnel. If the sexual union produced a baby, it was baptized and then strangled and dumped into a lime pit in the basement.
Monk claimed that nuns of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph were forced to have sex with the priests in the seminary next door. The priests supposedly entered the convent through a secret tunnel. If the sexual union produced a baby, it was baptized and then strangled and dumped into a lime pit in the basement.
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August 21, 2013
Ridiculous set of 19th C. anti-Jesuit literature (read it in a digital trio with 'Awful Disclosures...', 'Startling Mysteries...', and 'Six Months in a Convent'). Two of these stories purport to be "true confessions" of former nuns; the third is by a Protestant minister who straight-up admits his story is fiction, but should be treated as fact because he's pretty sure something like it has totally probably happened.
It's laughable to think there was a time when people would read this sort of blatantly over-the-top propaganda and not recognize it for what it was--until you realize that our modern-day talk-radio stars demonize their opponents in much the same way, and their audiences gobble it up. Then it's less funny. *sigh* People don't really change, eh?
Long story short, an interesting read for insight into the period, but otherwise, it's just sensationalist literature, with no real value as non-fiction (what with not being based in fact) or as fiction (what with not being much more than a bunch of ridiculous melodrama, with nary a compelling plot or multi-dimensional character to save it).
It's laughable to think there was a time when people would read this sort of blatantly over-the-top propaganda and not recognize it for what it was--until you realize that our modern-day talk-radio stars demonize their opponents in much the same way, and their audiences gobble it up. Then it's less funny. *sigh* People don't really change, eh?
Long story short, an interesting read for insight into the period, but otherwise, it's just sensationalist literature, with no real value as non-fiction (what with not being based in fact) or as fiction (what with not being much more than a bunch of ridiculous melodrama, with nary a compelling plot or multi-dimensional character to save it).
Displaying 1 of 1 review