The Magdalen

In this international bestselling novel set in 1950s Ireland, a pregnant and optionless young woman endures life working in a Dublin convent.
"Told in a straightforward and unadorned manner, The Magdalen is among the best of the contemporary Irish tales out there today and deserves to be embraced here as it was in Ireland." —Bookreporter.com

Esther Doyle is a true child of Connemara. She is a simple girl with a true heart, and the wild and tangled land of the West sings in her bones. But when Esther is betrayed by her lover and left unmarried and pregnant, the sea and sky are both lost to her. She is sent by her shamed family to the Holy Saints Convent in Dublin, where, trapped behind granite walls, she works in the infamous Magdalen laundry while she waits for the birth of her baby.


At the mercy of nuns, and working mostly in silence, Esther spends her days in the steamy laundry. It is a grim existence, but Esther has no choice; the convent is her only refuge, and the orphanage next door will provide food and shelter for her newborn child.


Despite the harsh realities of her life, Esther gains support from this isolated community of women. Learning through the experiences and the mistakes of the other "Maggies," Esther begins to realize her strengths and her determination to survive. It will take every ounce of her courage to realize her dream of a new life for her child and herself, beyond the grey walls of the Holy Saints Convent . . .

"This book pulls no punches. . . . Marita Conlon-McKenna is breaking new ground with The Magdalen." —Image