The Magdalen Girls

Told with candor, compassion, and vivid historical detail, this masterfully written novel delves into the lives of women tarred with the scarlet letter of society’s censure and banished to workhouses. Readers of Kristin Hannah and Susan Wiggs won’t be able to put down this inspiring story of friendship, hope, and unyielding courage amid turbulent times.

"A haunting novel...A real page-turner!” —Ellen Marie Wiseman, author of What She Left Behind

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 “fallen” 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.

Fans of Barbara Davis and Ashley Hay will enjoy this tenderhearted story of sinners, saints, and redemption.” —Booklist