The Fallen

When the gates of the last Magdalene Laundry closed in 1996, Ireland moved on. Or so it seemed. ‘Enraging ... superb‘ JOHN BANVILLE, Guardian ‘Highly readable and intelligently engaging‘ FINTAN O‘TOOLE, Times Literary Supplement ‘A terrific unearthing of Ireland‘s shadowland. A landmark book‘ RORY CARROLL ‘Remarkable‘ Sunday Times ‘Powerful ... authoritative, passionate‘ Mail on Sunday Published to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the last Laundry‘s closure, The Fallen is the forgotten story of the Magdalene Laundries, told through the voices of the women who endured them, the nuns who presided over them and the communities that lived alongside them. Unflinching and compassionate, Louise Brangan draws on archives and survivors‘ testimonies to dismantle long-held myths about what the Laundries were, who was sent to these places of violence and secrecy, and why. As we move from the past into the present, Brangan compels us not only to confront this shameful history, but to ask a deeper question: what do we choose to remember? ‘An extraordinary gift ... This book is both an education and a page-turner. I am in awe of its meticulous scholarship, and the compelling clarity and courage of the writing. How I wish that it could be studied in every Irish school‘ DOIREANN NÍ GHRÍOFA ‘Critical, informed and beautifully written‘ MÁIRÉAD ENRIGHT Winner of the 2024 Royal Society of Literature Giles St Aubyn Award