Foreign and Wicked Institution

This work explores the prejudice that existed against women in Victorian England who joined sisterhoods and worked in orphanages and in education and were committed to social work among the urban poor. The accomplishments of the nineteenth-century nuns and the opposition they overcame should serve as both an example and encouragement to all men and women committed to the Gospel.

'This book presents a facet of Victorian life which, like the convents themselves, is often terra incognita; it opens a window on a commonly overlooked aspect of the social and religious life of the Victorian era.' Mary C. Treacy, Women's History Magazine, Issue 70, Summer 2012 "...[A foreign and Wicked Institution? The Campaign Against Convents in Victorian England] is a helpful contribution to learning, and discloses some fine scholarly judgements..." Edward Norman, The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol.64/1, January 2013. '...There are some nuggets of information which interest or amuse or both...' Michael Tait, Reviews in Religion & Theology, Volume 20, Issue 2, March 2013. "...Readers will benefit from Kollar's wide reading and his wealth of knowledge of printed archival sources as well as nineteenth-century literature. There is much in these essays that is important for those who are interested in understanding the Victorians, the depths of anti-Catholicism and anti-Tractarianism and how women religious were seen as threatening the status quo. This volume is a welcome addition to the history of women religious..." Carmen M. Mangion, Recusant History, Vol. 31-3, May 2013

Fr. Rene Kollar has been a member of the faculty of Saint Vincent College since 1981. A graduate of the former Saint Vincent Preparatory School, he earned a bachelor of arts degree from Saint Vincent College, a Master of Divinity Degree from Saint Vincent Seminary, and a Master of Arts Degree and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.