Mary Ward

The book Mary Ward by Ida Friederike Görres (née von Coudenhove) presents the life of Catholic nun Venerable Mary Ward (1585 –1645). It was originally published in German in 1932 by Verlag Anton Pustet under the title Mary Ward: Eine Heldenlegende and republished in 1952 by Verlag Herder under the title Das grosse Spiel der Maria Ward. It was translated into English by Elise Codd and published as Mary Ward in London in 1939 by Longmans, Green and Co. Görres was likely inspired in part by her education at a convent school for girls in St. Pölten, Austria, run by nuns who belonged to an order founded by Mary Ward. Sources In the author's note to Mary Ward, Ida Görres cites multiple biographies about Mary which she used to verify the historical accuracy of her book. However, she also recreates various imagined details such as dialogue to better retell her story. She writes: Plot Mary Ward is separated into four sections. The first details Ward's early life living with her family in Mulwith, West Riding of Yorkshire, England throughout her childhood and early life, up until she decides to join a monastery in northern France. During this period, she goes to live with her grandparents and meets her aunt Martha as well as Martha's servant, Meg. Martha takes Mary to get her fortune told by a fortune teller, who says that Mary will travel to foreign places during her life. Then, she receives news that her younger brother has been born, so she returns to live with her parents. As she grows older, Mary starts to dream of becoming a nun, while her parents begin positioning her for marriage. Eventually, Mary's father decides that she will marry Edward Neville, heir to become the Earl of Westmorland, but Mary refuses, and after her two aunts are arrested and convicted in the Gunpowder Plot, she leaves England and joins a monastery of Poor Clares at Saint Omer in northern France.