Status Updates From One Poor Scruple

An astonishing novel, of such incredible insight into both human fallenness and humanity’s capacity for faith, hope, and redemption. ❤️❤️❤️

❤️❤️‍🩹❤️❤️‍🩹

What an incredible cast of characters this novel has… Disturbing, enraging, charming, vulnerable, narcissistic, imperious, warm, caring, and corrupt—all these and more in such an intricate tale about changing society and the measures people take to find meaning and happiness. 💔

Chapter 12 😭❤️ Heart so full…

“She had never before had so much to amuse her, but she had often been far happier.”

“We live in a democratic age, therefore never was rank so much sought after.”

So incisive and perceptive! 😳

Funny thing…as secular and worldly as Cecilia is, she still needs confession and absolution, despite being u willing to do so in a Christian context…

I’m very worried for both Madge and Hilda…

Buddy read (re-read for me) with Chelsea, Darryl, and Melody! I'm really glad to be re-reading this because I struggled with it a lot the first time. Since then, I've read more Catholic novels and the reading is coming much easier.

Finished Part I!

Loving this.

Madge 💔💔😭😭

Josephine Ward has such a unique writing style. I’m really enjoying it. It feels more French than English—it suggests and implies rather than spells out explicitly with focus and directness.

Loving this so far! I’m finding the complex social dynamics fascinating, especially that there are two different crowds being dealt with here: Catholics vs. Protestants, and then Catholics vs. Catholics, based on their perceived and actual degree of devotion and orthopraxy.

Victober 2026 read for Marissa’s prompt!