“The greatest Irishwoman that ever crossed the Atlantic” – Archbishop John Hughes
By: Ed O’Shaughnessy
Much has been written about the life and influence of the authoress Mary Anne Saddlier (1820-1903), best remembered for her prolific writing about the “experiences of Catholic Irish immigrants in nineteenth-century North America by one who herself was just that”.[1] More than sixty novels, numerous short stories, translations of French stories to English, and newspaper articles are attributed to her. Arriving in Montreal one year ahead of the momentous Famine Exodus, she was the only Irish author of her generation to write of the famine experience.
Born Mary Anne Madden in County Caven in 1820, Mary Anne emigrated to Montreal in 1844. Arriving with no parents or siblings, and little other than some treasured books, she had to make her way in a foreign land relying on skills acquired in her formative years. Among those skills were a professional level competency in French and the ability to write for publication.
While Mary Anne realized publication success prior to emigration, it was in Montreal that she achieved breakthrough recognition. Publishing initially in The Literary Garland and the True Witness and Catholic Chronicle, the breakthrough came with the marriage in 1846 to James Sadlier, a printer and publisher, the younger brother of the famous Denis & James Sadlier publishing concern.[2] Sent from New York City to Montreal to capture the rapidly expanding Irish immigrant market, James became acquainted with the budding authoress, then living in the Irish enclave of Sainte Marthe.[3]
As it happened, the union of Mary Anne and James proved to be quite serendipitous. Mary Anne benefitted from a loving and supportive spouse, who served as her mentor, editor and publishing agent. James benefitted from a loving and supportive spouse who helped fill the coffers of the family business with her very popular publications. The exceptionally matched couple produced six children in Montreal, three boys and three girls. James and Mary Anne lived in Montreal until late 1860, when business demands recalled James to New York City.
During those busy Montreal years Mary Anne published six novels, a collection of short stories, a Roman Catholic catechism, nine translations of French works to English, and assorted articles for American newspapers The Boston Pilot and The American Celt, the latter subsequently retitled The Tablet when the Sadlier brothers purchased the weekly publication from Thomas D’Arcy McGee.[4]
Some scholars consider Mary Anne’s literary work in Montreal to have been her best. A quick review of the Montreal-written novels demonstrate recurrent themes and the transatlantic reach of Mary Anne’s market: Tales of Olden Times, A Collection of European Traditions, 1850; The Red Hand of Ulster: The Fortunes of Hugh O’Neill, (County Caven, Mary Anne’s birth county, is in Ulster), 1850; Willy Burke: The Irish Orphan in America (A cautionary tale aimed at young Irish males) , 1850; Alice Riordan: The Blind Man’s Daughter, (The story takes place in Montreal) 1851; New Lights: Life in Galway,(A cautionary tale set in famine-raged west Ireland) 1853, The Blakes and the Flanagans: A Tale Illustrative of Irish Life in the United States (The challenges facing immigrant families in New York City), 1855.
Students of Mary Anne’s writing style have stated that her work was decidedly didactic. One described her novels as ‘practical fiction’. Mary Anne was keen to tutor her readership through fictious examples of heroes and heroines who remained steadfast in their Catholic faith and Irish values in the face of proselytizing Protestantism in Ireland and in North America. Mary Anne’s novels spoke so clearly of the travails of immigrant Irish women in service that some have speculated that Mary Anne herself experienced such conditions prior to marriage.
In the decade following her 1860 relocation to New York City, Mary Anne continued to publish at a breath-taking pace, often serializing her work in the weekly newspaper, The American Celt, subsequently retitled The Tablet. Mary Anne was by now a celebrated literary figure who hosted other literati in weekly sessions in her New York homes.
Among those attending her sessions was Thomas D’Arcy McGee, one of the founding fathers of the Canadian Confederation. Though he had relocated from New York City to Montreal some years earlier, McGee retained close relations with Mary Anne. So aligned was their geopolitical thinking, that in October 1867, McGee invited Mary Anne to attend the opening session of the first Parliament of the Canadian Confederation. After McGee’s shocking assassination in 1868, a much-affected Mary Anne gathered and then published The Poems of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, With Copious Notes, 1869. She did so to honor McGee’s oft stated intention to publish his poetry, as well as to commemorate the memory of a dear friend.
Mary Anne’s publication productivity diminished during the 1870s. Personal calamities and business misfortunes were contributing causes. Her husband and collaborator, James, died in 1869. The Sadlier printing and publishing enterprise suffered financial setbacks in the business-turbulent 1870s, and The Tablet was sold to cover debts. Mary Anne continued to publish in The Tablet under the new owners, until 1884, when she broke from The Tablet over the political orientation the paper had taken.
In 1885 her brother-in-law Denis died, and, for a time, the management of the family business fell to Mary Anne. It was subsequently taken over by her nephew, William, who eventually sold the business, lock, stock and copyrights of Mary Anne’s work.[5] A widow of advancing years, Mary Anne returned to Montreal in 1885, where her surviving children lived.
In her declining years Mary Anne returned to writing for a livelihood. It was at this stage in life that she saw the necessity to share her experiences of the overwhelming influx of Irish immigrants in the summer and autumn months of 1847. In The Plague of 1847, published in the Messenger of the Sacred Heart, Mary Anne recounted with gratitude the empathy the Irish immigrants received from the Catholic French Canadians, who so kindly rushed to aid the stricken in the fever sheds at Pointe St Charles, and who took in the Irish children suddenly orphaned by those who succumbed to typhus.[6] She also recounted first-hand the nursing and ministering provided by the Catholic religious communities, to include a cloistered order which had sought permission from the Archbishop to suspend their vows to attend to the suffering immigrants.
Aware of her diminished state and stature, friends and admirers established a fund to help sustain her. As an exception to policy, colleagues also organized an initiative to secure recognition of her life’s work with the awarding of the prestigious Laetare Medal in 1895. The Laetare Medal is awarded by the faculty of the University of Notre Dame once a year to a United States Catholic in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and community. Mary Anne received the medal in an appropriate ceremony at the Archiepiscopal palace, Montreal, April 1, 1895, attended by two of her children with whom she was then living.[7]
Mary Anne Saddlier died on April 5, 1903. She is buried with her husband James in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York City. In 2008 Mary Anne Sadlier was recognized as a National Historic Person by Parks Canada.
[1] Quoted from Mary Anne Sadlier, Dictionary of Ulster Biography, by Richard Froggatt, Ulster History Circle.
[2] In 1853 the D & J Sadlier & Co had become the largest printing house in the United States. It would become the largest Catholic book printing and selling business in North America. The first store opened in New York City in 1842, followed by a store in Montreal in 1846.
[3] Mary Anne lived at 179 ½ Notre Dame Street upon her marriage to James. The D & J Sadlier bookstore was nearby.
[4] The Sadlier brothers purchased The American Celt from Thomas D’Arcy McGee in 1857.
[5] The inventory and copyrights were eventually sold to J. P. Kenedy & Son, New York City. The bookstores were purchased individually by local merchants. The Montreal D & J Sadlier bookstore was purchased by F. McCabe in the late 19th Century. It was subsequently purchased by Henry Wall in the early 20th Century and remained open until his death in late 1949.
[6] “The Plague of 1847”, League of the Sacred Heart, Volume 1, pp 204-210, 1891. Found at Canadiana.ca.
[7] Her residence was then 706 Sherbrooke.