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The Correspondence of Mother Vincent Whitty - 1839 to 1892

This volume contains over 340 letters written by, to, or about Mother Vincent (Ellen) Whitty, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy in Queensland. The letters span a fifty-three year period from the time of Ellen Whitty’s entrance into the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin in 1839 to her death in Brisbane, Australia in 1892.


The letters (which are all transcripts of autographs or early hand copies) bring to life a woman who was twice elected Reverend Mother of her Dublin convent before leading the foundation group of Sisters of Mercy to Brisbane in 1861. They provide insights not only about the life of Mother Vincent and the Sisters of Mercy, but about her dealings with leading figures in Church and State in Ireland, England and Australia.

The volume contains primary source material about life in Victorian Dublin and colonial Australia and events such as the Crimean War. Very few of the letters have been published previously, so this volume, which is fully annotated, will open up to a wide readership material which has previously been available only in archives.

Hard cover 400 pages
Published by University of Queensland Press
ISBN 978 0 7022 3935 9

Price: AUD $50.00 postage extra<br>

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Compiled and edited by Anne Hetherington rsm & Pauline Smoothy rsm
Order from: Sisters of Mercy Brisbane Congregation
PO Box 287
Toowong DC Q 4066
Email; info@sombris.org.au

Price: AUD$50.00