Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger
Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger
Edited by Maureen Murphy
Author: Asenath NicholsonCouldn't load pickup availability
In May 1844, the American educator and reformer Asenath Nicholson set out from New York on a fifteen-month visit to Ireland, determined to ‘investigate the condition of the Irish poor’. Nicholson travelled on foot through much of the island, reading the Bible to the local people and sharing their hospitality. She describes a rural society that, despite great poverty, received the American visitor with generosity and kindness. Nicholson’s rich and lively account of her travels is a unique glimpse of Ireland before the Great Hunger of 1845-52.
Details
Details
ISBN: 9781901866735
Extent: 384
Published:
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Praise and Reviews
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‘Nicholson’s personality must have been as forceful as it was compassionate, and her experiences make for compelling reading. … this is a rich and fascinating example of famine literature, and Murphy has done a great service by making it more accessible to a contemporary audience.’ – Mary Donoghue McCain, New Hibernia Review
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‘Her narrative is extraordinarily vivid, with a style and a vocabulary surprisingly modern … a document of historical importance.’ – Richard Roche, Irish Times
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‘An extraordinary testament.’ – John S. Doyle, Sunday Tribune
About the Author
Asenath Nicholson (1792-1855) wrote Annals of the Famine in Ireland as well as Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger (1847), a valuable record of Ireland on the eve of the Famine.