The remarkable but true story of a young Irish nun who flees her convent in Wagga Wagga, NSW, barefoot, in her nightgown, on a foggy winter’s night in 1920, setting the scene for a religious storm unprecedented in Australia’s history. She finds refuge in the home of local Protestants who refuse to disclose her whereabouts to the Catholic authorities.
The Bishop, in turn, swears before a Chamber Magistrate that she is insane and a warrant is issued for her arrest. Hunted throughout Australia like an outlaw, her plight is driven by a heightening media frenzy that raises religious tension to levels unprecedented in Australia’s history.
Located in the home of the Reverend William Touchell and his wife, Laura, in a Sydney suburb, she is arrested and taken to the Reception House for the Insane in Darlinghurst to be held in remand for medical observation. Appearing before the Lunacy Court, a week later, she is declared sane and released. With no apology from the Bishop for the slur cast on her character, she turns to the courts for redress. But taking on the Bishop means taking on the Roman Catholic Church. Those who helped when she fled the convent offer their support again, along with every member of the Loyal Orange Lodge of NSW, to sue the Bishop. An unholy war rages around her as the enmity between the two sides, rooted in history and religion, reaches fever pitch.
This is the true story of the author’s Great Aunt, Brigid Partridge, known in religion as Sister Liguori.
