Description: From Mother to Son is an annotated translation of forty-one of the eighty-one extant full-length letters written Marie de l'Incarnation, founder of the Ursulines in Canada, to her son, Claude Martin, between 1640 and 1671. These collected letters reveal much about the early history of New France and the spiritual itinerary of one of the most celebrated mystics of the seventeenth century. Uniting these letters into a coherent whole is the distinctive and complicated relationship between an absent mother and her abandoned son.
Review Quotes: "Mary Dunn has provided a scholarly and well-informed edition of these sources." -- Peter Rushton, The Seventeenth Century
Mary Dunn's edition of letters from mystic-missionary Marie de l'Incarnation to her son is a gift to historians of early modern Europe and Christian spirituality. This intriguing volume not only offers an intimate view into the evolving relationship between mother and son, and their understanding of the depths of a life united to Christ; it also provides a window to lesser known aspects of seventeenth-century New France. It is meticulously researched and elegantly translated, with careful annotations that are themselves a valuable scholarly resource From Mother to Son is a delightful read from beginning to end and a valuable resource for anyone interested in the early modern period, missions history or Christian spirituality."--Bo Karen Lee, Scottish Journal of Theology"[T]he collection is remarkable for its personal rather than hagiographic treatment of this monumental figure...Dunn has made an important contribution to English-language scholarship on New France with this collection."--The Catholic Historical Review"This truly extraordinary collection of letters between Marie de l'Incarnation and her son, Claude Martin, could not have been curated, translated, and introduced to the English-speaking world more expertly. Dunn's introduction is brilliant, promoting a richer awareness of how mystical journeys are deeply enmeshed in earthly relationships - in this case, relationships between France and the New World, Catholics and Iroquois, and most provocatively and indeed startlingly, between a mother and the son she abandons. I cannot think of a more bracing and exciting set of documents that will enrich our understanding of early modern Christianity and the field of religion more broadly. A must read." --Brenna Moore, author of Raïssa Maritain, the Allure of Suffering, and the French Catholic Revival (1905-1945)"Here is an elegant and well-researched translation of selected letters from 'the Teresa of the New World' to her son. It provides the English public with a precious view, 'from the inside', on the history of New France, on the religious and socio-economic encounter of the Amerindian as well as the spiritual state of the first French to settle on the North American continent in the seventeenth century" --Dominique Deslandres, Professor, Department of History, Université de Montréal"Lucid and lively, Mary Dunn's translation of the letters of Marie de l'Incarnation to her son Claude provide compelling evidence for family relations, female spirituality, and life among the indigenous peoples of New France in the seventeenth century. A real treasure!" --Natalie Zemon Davis, author of Women on the Margins: Three Seventeenth-Century Lives