Confessions of the Nun of St. Omer: A tale by Charlotte DacreMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Arno Press edition of this book can be quite difficult to read. The book is a facsimile of the original 1805 publication. The font is set in a Caslon typeface, which, just for fun, also includes what's known as a long s. As Wikipedia notes, when a long s is used, the word sinfulness reads as "ſinfulneſs."
Once I adapted to the typeface, the book itself was a quick and easy read. This is the story of Cazire, a young girl whose father abandons her twice over. First, he takes her with him when he abandons her mother and takes up with a mistress. Under the influence of his mistress, he abandons her in a convent (to be educated--not to take the veil). Upon her apparent graduation, he sends her to live with her mother and ignores her. With this poor parental involvement, and with a largely superficial education, young Cazire takes up several shocking notions. She reads Rousseau (always a bad idea in a Dacre novel!) and decides that the most important aspect of life is love. Heavily sentimental, she understands that few men are likely to meet her high demands of a spouse.
Unfortunately for Cazire, the first man to even come close to her dreams is Fribourg--her mother's neighbor. Fribourg is a husband and father, but these facts are not enough to prevent Cazire from loving him. Fribourg encourages Cazire's affections, engaging her in long philosophic debates wherein he questions the role of duty and the sanctity of marriage.
Much of this novel is predictable, but there are also some truly moving passages. While Dacre clearly condemns Fribourg's philosophy, she is also very careful to present his arguments in detail. Cazire's gradual seduction to philosophy is realistic and well-portrayed.
This novel needs to be reprinted and made accessible to a younger generation of scholars.
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