The convent by Maureen McCarthy.
Convent of Saint Agnes of Bohemia. Some rights reserved
Sadie, Ellen, Cecilia, and Peach, each have a connection with Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne.
Forced to give up her daughter Sadie dies of a broken heart. Ellen, a ward of the state is a young girl hidden in the Convent. Cecilia is convinced she has a calling to join the convent. Peach takes a job at the café in Abbotsford Convent and finds her life goes completely out of sync when a letter from the past arrives.
The characters have been very well delineated and reflect the era they have come from. The reader is introduced to each character and then to the important elements that connect the character to the story. The novel’s strength is in the detail and it chronological flow as it spans four generations from 1914 up until the present.
Quite a bit of this story has been taken from Maureen McCarthy’s own family, so make sure you read the author’s note at the end of the book.
The book deals impressively with the role of women, motherhood, and religion across all ages. The Convent can be enjoyed by all ages from secondary students to adults.
Image by Craig Elliott