In December 1875 the steamship Deutschland left Bremen, Germany, bound for America. On board were five nuns, exiled by a ban on religious orders, bound to begin their lives anew in Missouri. Their journey would end when the Deutschland ran aground at the mouth of the Thames and all five drowned. Ron Hansen tells their harrowing story, but also that of the poet and seminarian Gerard Manly Hopkins, and how the shipwreck moved him to write a grand poem, a revelatory work read throughout the world today. Combining a thrilling tragedy at sea, with the seeming shipwreck of Hopkins's own life, "Hansen brilliantly, if soberly, weaves two interrelated story lines into a riveting novel" (Booklist).

Praise

"[An] Elegant, meditative novel . . . [In] the sublime Mariette in Ecstasy, Hansen deftly conveyed the intensity of religious experience that verged on insanity. Exiles, for all its storminess, is a quieter but equally affecting depiction of a spiritually and artistically transcen-dent life."--The Boston Globe

"Dazzling and beautiful . . .  it kept me up after midnight three nights in a row."--The Washington Post

"One of our finest novelists . . . Hansen conveys a man conflicted by his callings as both a spiritual vessel and a full-blooded artist."--Enterainment Weekly (Grade: A)

"Ron Hansen sketches a delicate portrait of Hopkins. . . . He brings his usual magic to the task."--Chicago Tribune

"A shifting, sympathetic depiction of piety and piety's torments . . . a brave meditation on religious experience."--The News and Observer

About the Author(s)

Ron Hansen

RON HANSEN’s seven novels include The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and Atticus, a finalist for the National Book Award.

photo: Charles Barry