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Annals of the Famine in Ireland
'I've read a great deal about the Famine but I haven't read anything that captures the horrors in so vivid a style, and with such understanding and sympathy. She also writes so eloquently about the landscape and the people. Her descriptions make you feel as if you are there ... I could go on. It is so evocative, so moving (Margaret Ward).
- GenresHistoryIrelandNonfiction
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Asenath Nicholson
36 books2 followersAsenath Hatch Nicholson (February 24, 1792 – May 15, 1855) was an American vegan, social observer and philanthropist. She wrote at first hand about the Great Hunger in Ireland in the 1840s. She observed the famine as she distributed bibles, food, and clothing.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 2, 2014
In 1844, Asenath Nicholson traveled from New York to visit Ireland. Her purpose as a Quaker was to distribute Bibles among the Irish Catholics. What she found instead was an island wracked by extreme poverty, a growing potato blight, and absentee landlords.Mrs. Nicholson's mission quickly changed from Bible distribution to aid and relief. She felt called by God and, in January of 1847, began the Central Relief Committee of the Society of Friends in Dublin. The following summer she traveled on her own to the West of Ireland, visiting the impoverished and dying, and saw the effects of the Famine in the rural counties.
Ireland was part of the British Empire, defeated by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 From that time forward, wealthy British aristocrats owned tracts of land in Ireland, and rented out parcels to the native populace. The Irish were tenant farmers who paid their rent in crops, such as wheat and potatoes. For the most part, potatoes were grown for the farmers own consumption, and was often their only food. In addition to this socioeconomic setting, religion also played a role. For the most part, the British landowners were Protestant and the Irish were Catholic. These landowners were also called "absentee landlords"because they rarely visited their estates.
This is the backdrop in which Mrs. Nicholson found herself. Though she was Protestant, her first goal was to provide food for the hungry. Her organization received cornmeal. Cornmeal was sent as relief from the American government, but most poor Irish had no way of cooking it into bread. What was invented was "stirabout," a water and cornmeal gruel-like mixture.
Often, the meal became moldy during transport, and caused illness to those who did eat it. "...meal, which soon gathered dampness, then became mouldy[sic] and wholly unfit for use" (51). Nicholson questioned the governments decision to send the meal in sacks, rather than in a barrel. She became extremely critical of the government relief efforts when she discovered the starving in workhouses were given moldy black bread and turnips. She describes the bread as "sour, black and had the consistency of liver" (113).
Editor Maureen Murphy conducted exhaustive research on Mrs. Nicholson for this 1998 edition. The introduction contains relevant details of Mrs. Nicholson's life as a teacher, abolitionist and reformer. Murphy paints an excellent progression of Nicholson's work and religious beliefs, through her calling to go to Ireland.
Asenath Nicholson's Annals of the Famine in Ireland is an excellent resource of the conditions in Ireland during this time. According to Murphy, Nicholson's original works dedicated to her years in Ireland first appeared as Ireland's Welcome to a Stranger in 1847, then as Light and Shades of Ireland in 1850. By 1851, Nicholson had expanded her earlier versions into the Annals of the Famine in 1847, 1848 and 1849.
Ireland was part of the British Empire, defeated by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 From that time forward, wealthy British aristocrats owned tracts of land in Ireland, and rented out parcels to the native populace. The Irish were tenant farmers who paid their rent in crops, such as wheat and potatoes. For the most part, potatoes were grown for the farmers own consumption, and was often their only food. In addition to this socioeconomic setting, religion also played a role. For the most part, the British landowners were Protestant and the Irish were Catholic. These landowners were also called "absentee landlords"because they rarely visited their estates.
This is the backdrop in which Mrs. Nicholson found herself. Though she was Protestant, her first goal was to provide food for the hungry. Her organization received cornmeal. Cornmeal was sent as relief from the American government, but most poor Irish had no way of cooking it into bread. What was invented was "stirabout," a water and cornmeal gruel-like mixture.
Often, the meal became moldy during transport, and caused illness to those who did eat it. "...meal, which soon gathered dampness, then became mouldy[sic] and wholly unfit for use" (51). Nicholson questioned the governments decision to send the meal in sacks, rather than in a barrel. She became extremely critical of the government relief efforts when she discovered the starving in workhouses were given moldy black bread and turnips. She describes the bread as "sour, black and had the consistency of liver" (113).
Editor Maureen Murphy conducted exhaustive research on Mrs. Nicholson for this 1998 edition. The introduction contains relevant details of Mrs. Nicholson's life as a teacher, abolitionist and reformer. Murphy paints an excellent progression of Nicholson's work and religious beliefs, through her calling to go to Ireland.
Asenath Nicholson's Annals of the Famine in Ireland is an excellent resource of the conditions in Ireland during this time. According to Murphy, Nicholson's original works dedicated to her years in Ireland first appeared as Ireland's Welcome to a Stranger in 1847, then as Light and Shades of Ireland in 1850. By 1851, Nicholson had expanded her earlier versions into the Annals of the Famine in 1847, 1848 and 1849.
January 11, 2011
This book was published a few years after the Irish Potato Famine and was written by a lady who spent time there during that awful period. I found it as a free eBook from B&N while looking for books about this famine. The true accounts are sad to read but gives a true picture of how people suffered.
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August 3, 2013Famine caused by misappropriation of resources (corrupt bureaucracy), irresponsible landowners, and peasants' dependence on potato alone. Lots of international organizations sent aid; received warmly, though with some apprehension of proselytizing.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews