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The Nun of Ravensbrück: The Irish Nun Who Defied the Nazis
Not yet published
Expected 4 Jun 26In the cold winter of 1944, Sr Kate McCarthy - Irish nun and French Resistance leader - arrives at the gates of Ravensbrück Concentration Camp for women. She has endured four years of horrendous suffering in various prisons, still having the courage to resist the Nazi regime, a journey that began at the outbreak of World War II when she joined the resistance movement.
Her actions have saved hundreds of lives and brought her to the edge of existence. Together with her friends Sylvette and Angèle, they have survived against the odds. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits beyond the Ravensbrück gates. And soon, Kate will face her biggest test yet...
The Nun of Ravensbrück is the gripping account of a remarkable woman whose deep faith and untold courage would shine a light in the darkest of places. It is a tale of horrendous tragedies and small mercies, of the bonds of women in a world of war, and of how one nun's courage changed the course of history.
Her actions have saved hundreds of lives and brought her to the edge of existence. Together with her friends Sylvette and Angèle, they have survived against the odds. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits beyond the Ravensbrück gates. And soon, Kate will face her biggest test yet...
The Nun of Ravensbrück is the gripping account of a remarkable woman whose deep faith and untold courage would shine a light in the darkest of places. It is a tale of horrendous tragedies and small mercies, of the bonds of women in a world of war, and of how one nun's courage changed the course of history.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 4, 2026
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
April, 1940. Kate McCarthy or Sister Marie-Laurence returns from Monroe, Louisiana to Béthune, France and she’s a member of the order of the Franciscan Sisters of Calais and these nuns are nurses.
Sister Marie-Laurence meets two women, mechanic and mother Sylvette Leleu and café owner Angele Tardiveau, they along with others join the resistance and are involved in helping French and British prisoners of war, hiding them and organizing their escape. They put themselves in danger and the network gets larger, Sister Marie-Laurence is arrested, and she spends months locked in various cells, the Germans make people vanish, it creates fear and uncertainty (night and fog) and hopefully stops others from joining in acts of rebellion.
November, 1944. Sister Marie-Laurence arrives at the gates of Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, in the last four years she has been in over eight different prisons, she has been interrogated by the Gestapo, starved and beaten, and she’s suffering from oedema in her lower limbs.
In Ravensbrück the nun’s faith is tested, every day she and the others are forced to line up to be counted in the rain and snow, do manual labour, face being picked in a selection and sent to the gas chambers.
I received a copy of The Nun of Ravensbrück by Cathi Fleming from NetGalley and Hachette Books Ireland in exchange for an honest review. I’m not sure how many times Sister Marie-Laurence was asked “if there is a god why is he allowing this to happen” and I thought the same thing.
Based on a real person and a story about overcoming adversity, tyranny and the darkest of times and even when her body was failing her and she was sick Sister Marie-Laurence didn’t give up and be grateful for the sacrifices made by a remarkable woman. Five stars, despite not being an easy novel to read and I highly recommend doing so.
Sister Marie-Laurence meets two women, mechanic and mother Sylvette Leleu and café owner Angele Tardiveau, they along with others join the resistance and are involved in helping French and British prisoners of war, hiding them and organizing their escape. They put themselves in danger and the network gets larger, Sister Marie-Laurence is arrested, and she spends months locked in various cells, the Germans make people vanish, it creates fear and uncertainty (night and fog) and hopefully stops others from joining in acts of rebellion.
November, 1944. Sister Marie-Laurence arrives at the gates of Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, in the last four years she has been in over eight different prisons, she has been interrogated by the Gestapo, starved and beaten, and she’s suffering from oedema in her lower limbs.
In Ravensbrück the nun’s faith is tested, every day she and the others are forced to line up to be counted in the rain and snow, do manual labour, face being picked in a selection and sent to the gas chambers.
I received a copy of The Nun of Ravensbrück by Cathi Fleming from NetGalley and Hachette Books Ireland in exchange for an honest review. I’m not sure how many times Sister Marie-Laurence was asked “if there is a god why is he allowing this to happen” and I thought the same thing.
Based on a real person and a story about overcoming adversity, tyranny and the darkest of times and even when her body was failing her and she was sick Sister Marie-Laurence didn’t give up and be grateful for the sacrifices made by a remarkable woman. Five stars, despite not being an easy novel to read and I highly recommend doing so.
Displaying 1 of 1 review