Directrix - Hardcover

K Rowntree

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0297840185 ISBN 13: 9780297840183

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co, 1990

Synopsis

Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {"Table Normal"; ""; 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; %; "Calibri","sans-serif"; } Funnier than Animal Farm, more political than Northanger Abbey, this racy satire follows a struggle for power in a community whose members are all female. Crisis looms at Albion Priory. The Prioress is old and in poor health, and she must name her successor. But her fading leadership has led to spiritual malaise and financial peril. Perhaps only sweeping reforms can save it from ruin. Margaret and Catherine are the two likely candidates. But how different they are, and how difficult it is to chose between them. Sister Margaret, bold, bossy and ruthless will stop at nothing to impose her own modernising vision. Sister Catherine, on the other hand, has a deep spirituality which may better serve the community in the long run. The ensuing battle for change is a story of ambition and compassion, sex and intrigue, madness and death. Kathleen Rowntree once again turns her witty eye on unexpected turmoil within a close-knit community. She could have set the story within any community where someone's attempts to change things is being fought over. It could have been set, for example, in a hospital or a university or a branch of the armed forces (and may have been inspired by British political change in the 1980s) but the author chose to set it in a priory. Please be advised that Albion Priory does not exist (the author knows of none that even resemble it) and intending novitiates are not encouraged to regard its practices as a realistic guide to the religious life. The original (hardcover) edition of this book was published with the title THE DIRECTRIX; the paperback and audio version were retitled A PRIZE FOR SISTER CATHERINE.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

The directrix (second-in-command) of Albion Priory lies on her deathbed, and the prioress chooses as her joint successors Sister Catherine, spiritual and humble, and Sister Margaret, pragmatic and ambitious. In her U.S. debut, British novelist Rowntree uses this pairing of opposites to portray a fascinating contest of wills that radically changes the political and social climate of the Priory and brings out the strong personalites of both the admirably upright and the dangerously self-seeking characters. Margaret's cohorts immediately begin jockeying for favor as their autocratic leader enacts plans to restore the Priory for wealthy visitors; concerned Catherine maintains a low profile, doing her best to help the outcast nuns. The convoluted plots by which Margaret's friends cheat, threaten and blackmail to get power characterize their leader as eloquently as Catherine's empathetic friendships and support of strong-willed young nuns reveal her emotional stability. Since the oblivious prioress provides no help in the conflict between self-interest and compassion, Catherine finally confronts Margaret in a debate, which continues the battle between community spirit and financial reality. The strengths of this unusual novel lie in Rowntree's ability to convey the often mundane but interesting details of religious life and to limn her characters' inner lives with clarity and compassion.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Albion Convent is the setting for a superbly written power struggle between two very opposite nuns to save their convent from financial ruin. Sister Margaret and Sister Catherine, whose personalities are finely interwoven in the masterful plot, are competing both to restore a sense of mission to Albion Convent and, coincidentally, to become the new "directrix." Even the reader is torn by their power struggle, uncertain which sister is better qualified to lead the house of worship. The sisters' reactions to the tension created by this competition is realistically depicted. Rowntree offers a very disturbing look at the dangers posed by overwhelming ambition for the sake of an institution. A thought-provoking novel that takes a new look at life in a convent from the political side. Recommended.
- Vicki Cecil, White River Lib., Greenwood, Ind.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0297840185
• ISBN 13: 9780297840183
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240