(HOAXES). MONK, Maria. Awful disclosures by Maria Monk, of the Hotel Dieu nunnery of Montreal.

A Lurid 19th Century Best Seller

(HOAXES). MONK, Maria. Awful disclosures by Maria Monk, of the Hotel Dieu nunnery of Montreal. (New York: Published by Maria Monk, 1836) 376 pp. (163 x 107 mm.) “Revised Edition.” Publisher's purple cloth (unevenly faded to brown). Housed in a purple cloth chemise and slipcase with red morocco label and gilt titling. With folding frontispiece of the nunnery. Spine reinforced and lower joint repaired, cloth rubbed and with a few stains, hinges exposed, the binding a bit fragile but sound; frontispiece with slight loss and repair along one fold, contents with moderate foxing throughout, one leaf with repair (through text, but still legible), one leaf with loss to corner margin. With a few issues, but still in good condition. $200

An early printing, published the same year as the first edition, of a best-selling narrative detailing ghastly exploits inside the "Black Nunnery," now regarded as a sensational hoax.

One of the 19th century's most notorious and widely circulated pieces of anti-Catholic literature, "Awful Disclosures" presents itself as a factual narrative recounting one woman's experiences as a nun in the Hôtel-Dieu convent in Montreal. The book alleges a hidden world of corruption and horrific deeds: forced assignations with priests, a culture of violence and secrecy, mysterious disappearances, and infanticide. It was an immediate success and sold tens of thousands of copies within months of its initial publication in 1836.

This revised edition includes the original narrative as well as a sequel to the work, following Monk's escape from the convent. It also adds a section addressing attempts to discredit the narrative, and a supplement that contains errata and a description of the plan of the "Black Nunnery" used in the frontispiece. Many editions and reprints of this work exist, but this particular printing is quite scarce in commerce. (C1134)

See: Sabin 49992