This is an impressive book by Deirdre Raftery that builds upon her extensive body of work on Irish nuns in education. In this instance, taking a transnational approach in exploring their presence in the Anglophone world sets out an excellent stall for future research while informing the reader about the complexity of the various networks they had, which is barely understood and upon which much remains to be done. Raftery clearly sets out the challenges in researching religious communities, stating in the introduction that ‘if a lay scholar decides to work in this field, becoming familiar with the language of religious life is only one step’ (p. vi). She also draws important attention to various limitations of access to the archives of religious congregations because of their own resources and the fact that these are private records. The scale of the research as well as the countries visited is the first thing that readers should notice. Raftery explores a century of significant expansion in the English-speaking world – mostly the British Empire, but also in the frontier territories of the United States. The book shows how ‘educational and cultural knowledge do not move beyond national boundaries on their own’ (p. 163).

The book seeks to explore the how and why in religious life, with an excellent overview of its structure to guide and inform the reader. Early chapters focus upon the pioneering vision of Nano Nagle, Mary Aikenhead, Teresa Ball and Catherine McAuley as some of the early foundresses of religious congregations that formed and produced teachers for the Anglophone world. This is done over six chapters, including an introduction and a useful reflective conclusion that offers ideas for future research agendas, including a more widespread study into religious sisters. In addition, Raftery is attentive to some of the limitations in examining congregations of religious sisters from just one country. Ireland makes sense as a country for a case study considering the oversize influence the Church held. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were 368 convents and thirty-five orders of religious sisters in the country. Expansion thus seemed inevitable. Visionary leaders and foundresses established schools to act as feeders for novitiates and future foundations across the world. They also provided education at a time when options were limited for the poor and even the middle class.

The book pays attention to the French and Irish orders, examining their positionality in the Church, how they responded to demand for education and the complex gendered challenges they faced as vowed women in the Church confronting the controlling behaviour of bishops and priests reluctant to cede control. Throughout the book, Raftery pays attention to the founding and expansion of congregations through the school networks they built and the complexities of missionary expansion. The success of the Sisters of Mercy in the United States, for example, means that it is impossible to accurately record the number of schools and convents that they opened. This shows how they were spectacularly successful, even in frontier territory often dominated by French missionary congregations.

Raftery explores how Ireland became a recruiting ground for French congregations like the Sisters of St Louis. There was a consistent demand for recruits, but also concern about Irish women joining foreign congregations. Regular devotional exercises, part of the wider ‘devotional revolution’ and reflective of the religious mood in Ireland as Presentation and Loreto sisters also came to be part of the fabric of education in Ireland and internationally. There is a huge amount to be done on non-elite education and this book points towards various avenues of research for the interested scholar.

A striking element of this book is the significance of kinship networks that facilitated growth. Raftery cites several examples of wealthy Catholic families that had financial clout and family connections internationally: evidence from the archives illustrates this eloquently. The number of relatives of Cardinal Paul Cullen that were priests, bishops and nuns was also an important kin network for growth. Missionary schools were not just confined to vocations for one order: several orders received vocations from them. Information from travelogues and correspondence back to the mother house showed the alacrity with which Irish women went where they were sent, often with little preparation and support when they arrived and tensions with local bishops. They always sought to maintain their autonomy, which led to conflict with some bishops, showing the patriarchal nature of the Church and the resultant, gendered tensions.

This is an excellent book – it establishes a useful starting point for future research and should be the standard work for those of us interested in studying the role of women religious in education, irrespective of nationality.