A Happy Homecoming or a Second Exile?

Description

When English Benedictine nuns fled Revolutionary France and the Low Countries, they expected refuge in their homeland. Instead, they encountered poverty, prejudice, and profound identity conflict. This was not a triumphant return – it was a second exile.

Drawing on rich, previously untapped archives, Scholastica Jacob uncovers the dramatic story of five Benedictine communities navigating displacement, rebuilding monastic life, and shaping Catholic revival in a Protestant England. Through vivid first-hand narratives of imprisonment, peril, and perseverance, this book explores themes of survival, spirituality, and cultural adaptation.

Far more than a convent chronicle, this study bridges religious history, women’s studies, and migration scholarship. It reveals the nuns’ hidden contribution to education, ecumenical dialogue, and the intellectual currents of the Catholic Enlightenment – while offering fresh insight into the resilience of faith under pressure.