The Nun's Story

HULME, Kathryn

Published by Frederick Muller Ltd, London, 1956

Published: 1956. First Edition. DESCRIPTION: Pink DJ over black cloth. Language: English. Book Condition: Good: Light wear to corners, edges and spine ends. Faint fading to board edges. Tightly bound with DJ shadows to otherwise clean and intact endpapers. Strong hinges. Lightly toned unmarked pages. Toned and lightly spotted text block edges. DJ Condition: Fair: Heavy wear, creasing and chipping to upper and lower edges. Small tears to upper and lower spine end edges and corners, ther largest being 1cm. Heavily rubbed covers. Unclipped Pages 337. Size: 20.5cm by 13.5cm. ADDITIONAL ITEMS: 1) Invitation to film special preview in 1959 at Warner House ( Warner Bros Pictures Ltd) from the Directors of Frederick Muller Ltd. 2) Cutting from The Bookseller magazine of Gabrielle Van Mal with Kathryn Hulme dated 13th October 1959. BOOK RESUME: The Nuns Story, described by Hulme as 'true in all the essentials', is the story of a young Belgian woman, Gabrielle Van der Mal, daughter of a respected doctor, who decides to join a convent in Belgium after an only briefly described romance-gone-wrong. Gabrielle also sees joining the convent as an opportunity to be trained in tropical medicines and land a post at the convent hospital in the African Congo. While her father reminds her that there is no guarantee she will receive the desired Congo post, Gabrielle is determined and optimistic, gladly taking her vows. As is often the case in life, reality proves to be less glamorous than the romanticized ideal that Gabrielle (now Sister Luke) has built up in her mind. In the quest for constantly striving to be the 'Living Rule' (the image of a perfect example of a nun living all her vows without fault), Sister Luke and the other nuns find themselves having to apologize and repent for nearly every action, actions the average person wouldnt even make notice of, such as having a glass of water without asking for permission or glancing at ones reflection in a window. Sister Luke finds this among other things harder to live with than she ever expected. Her biggest struggle though seems to be with finding humility and humbleness within herself, not bragging about her skills or talents or feeling jealousy over those of other nuns. Made into an American drama film in 1959 directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans, and Peggy Ashcroft. The screenplay was written by Robert Anderson. The film is a relatively faithful adaptation of the novel, which was based on the life of Belgian nun Marie Louise Habets. Latter portions of the film were shot on location in the Belgian Congo and feature Finch as a cynical but caring surgeon. The film was a financial success and was nominated for 8 Academy Awards. Seller Inventory # 10128

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Nun's Story
Publisher: Frederick Muller Ltd, London
Publication Date: 1956
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Fair
Edition: 1st Edition