The Magdalen Girls

Forced by their families to the harsh life of servitude and abuse at a Magdalen Laundry in 1962 Dublin, three young women must fight to break free from their dull, exhausting lives while insanity and death lurk nearby. V.S. Alexander’s historical fiction debut is a masterfully written novel of life within 20th century Ireland’s notorious institutions-and an inspiring story of friendship, hope,

Dublin, 1962. Within the gated grounds of the convent of The Sisters of the Holy Redemption lies one of the city’s Magdalen Laundries. Once places of refuge, the laundries have evolved into grim workhouses. Some inmates are ofalleno women-unwed mothers, prostitutes, or petty criminals. Most are ordinary girls whose only sin lies in being too pretty, too independent, or tempting the wrong man. Among them is sixteen-year-old Teagan Tiernan, sent by her family when her beauty provokes a lustful revelation from a young priest. Teagan soon befriends Nora Craven, a new arrival who thought nothing could be worse than living in a squalid tenement flat. Stripped of their freedom and dignity, the girls are given new names and denied contact with the outside world. The Mother Superior, Sister Anne, who has secrets of her own, inflicts cruel, dehumanizing punishments-but always in the name of love. Finally, Nora and Teagan find an ally in the reclusive Lea, who helps them endure-and plot an escape. But as they will discover, the outside world has dangers too, especially for young women with soiled reputations. Told with candor, compassion, and vivid historical detail, The Magdalen Girls is a masterfully written novel of life within the era’s notorious institutions-and an inspiring story of friendship, hope, and unyielding courage.