Maria Monk (1816-1849)
Maria Monk achieved notoriety as the supposed author of two accounts of imprisonment and abuse in a Montreal convent. Her authorship has been disputed, although her Canadian identity is not.
27 June 1816, Dorchester, Lower Canada
Summer 1849, Roosevelt Island, NY
Name at birth:
Maria Monk
Note
This entry is brief, as Maria Monk's authorship is questionable.
Entry written by Carole Gerson
Maria Monk (1816-1849)
Maria Monk was a disturbed young woman from Montreal who found her way to New York in 1835. Claiming to have been impregnated while confined to a convent, she was easily manipulated by American anti-Catholics who fabricated a sensational story of imprisonment and abuse, issued under her name as
Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk (1836). This runaway best-seller was followed by Further Disclosure of Maria Monk (1837). Maria was soon abandoned by her Protestant protectors and, after bearing a second child, eventually died in a New York prison in 1849. The two titles attributed to her have remained in circulation, providing telling evidence that propaganda can retain its power long after its validity has been disproven.
For more information, see her entry in the
Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
Published Texts
Life writing
Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk, as Exhibited in a Narrative of her Sufferings During a Residence of Five Years as a Novice, and Two Years as a Black Nun, in the Hotel Dieu Nunnery at Montreal… (New York: s.n., 1836)
Further Disclosures by Maria Monk, Concerning the Hotel Dieu Nunnery of Montreal; also, Her Visit to Nuns' Island, and Disclosures Concerning the Secret Retreat (New York: s.n., 1837)
Family and Relationships
Father: William Monk
William Monk was, at some point previous to 1837, "Barrack master at St. Johns, Que."
Mother: Isabella Mills
Religion
Catholic
Education
Awards
Employment and Volunteer Activities
Archival Holdings
Published Resources
Affidavit of Maria Monk's Mother. Early Canadiana Online. Web. 3 April 2015.
Sylvian, Phillipe. Maria Monk. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Web. 3 April 2015.