Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger: Or Excursions Through Ireland in 1844 and 1845, for the Purpose of Investigating the Condition of the Poor.

By Asenath Nicholson

Book Overview

The value of Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger cannot be overstated. It presents a vivid picture of Irish society on the eve of the Great Famine, exquisitely painted in words by an outsider with a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1240924526
• ISBN13: 9781240924523
• Release Date: January 2011
• Publisher: British Library, Historical Print Editions
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.4" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

A unique glimpse of Ireland before the Famine

Asenath Nicholson was a Christian radical-pacifist, abolitionist, vegetarian, feminist (of sorts)-who toured Ireland in 1844 on the eve of the Great Hunger, with the twin goals of investigating the condition of the Irish poor, and of spreading the gospel among them. "Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger" is her account of her time in the cabins and manor houses, and is a rare and (usually) sympathetic picture of pre-famine Ireland. Ms. Nicholson could be trying (quite judgemental, something of a prude) both to her contemporary hosts and her current readers, but in the end her honesty, indefatigability and generosity cover the bill. Of particular interest to this reader was her reporting of widespread hunger before the failure of the potato crop. I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in the period.