Kate Horsley

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Pennsylvania

A Novel

A druid-turned-nun writes of faith, love, and loss in this "beautifully written and thought-provoking book" set at the dawn of Ireland's Christian era (Library Journal)

Cloistered in a stone cell at the monastery of Saint Brigit, a sixth-century Irish nun secretly records the memories of her Pagan youth, interrupting her assigned task of transcribing Augustine and Patrick. She revisits her past, piece by piece--her fiercely independent mother, whose skill with healing plants and inner strength she inherited; her druid teacher, the brusque and magnetic Giannon, who introduced her to the mysteries of the written language.
 
But disturbing events at the cloister keep intervening. As the monastery is rent by vague and fantastic accusations, Gwynneve's words become the one force that can save her from annihilation.


"As a slant of sunlight illuminates jewels long buried, Kate Horsley's novel brings words to an ancient silence and a living, vivid presence to people who lived in that time of great changes and estrangements we call the Dark Ages." --Ursula K. Le Guin

Confessions of a Pagan Nun

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This moving and subtle tale both embodies and confirms the enduring power of language. Gwynneve (Gwi-NEEV) is raised in a village of fishermen and pigkeepers at the height of Ireland's transition from Paganism to Christianity. All around her the new doctrines of Patrick and the "tonsured men" are inexorably driving out the old Druid ways. When Gwynneve loses the two figures she loved the most-her mother succumbing to disease, her outspoken Druid teacher abducted by his enemies-she leaves her village and finally takes refuge in the convent of Saint Brigit. Of her past life and loves she retains only intangibles: her mother's love of nature and independent mind, her teacher's gift of literacy and addiction to truth. Clinging to the one constant and comforting force in her life-the power of words, and their offer of immortality to those who set them down-she records her memories surreptitiously, interrupting her assigned tasks of transcribing Patrick and Augustine. But disturbing events from the present keep intervening. Finally, her headstrong ways and growing criticism of the monastery's new abbot lead to the accusation that she consorts with demons. The story's tragic conclusion confirms both Gwynneve's fears and her powers: centuries after she and her tormentors sink back into the Irish earth, her words remain to haunt and inspire us.

Category - Fiction / Historical Fiction

Format - Paperback

Condition - Good

Listed - 10 months ago

Views - 23

Wishes - 3

Ships From - Pennsylvania

Est. Publication Date - Oct 2002

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Category - Fiction / Historical Fiction

Format - Paperback

Condition - Good

Listed - 10 months ago

Views - 23

Wishes - 3

Ships From - Pennsylvania

Est. Publication Date - Oct 2002

Additional Information

Publisher Description

Confessions of a Pagan Nun

By:

$4.00

Condition

Format

Meet the seller

Discover more

Confessions of a Pagan Nun

By: Kate Horsley

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