The history of Saint Susan’s monastery on the south coast of England is as remarkable as the tumultuous times in which it existed. Located at East Lulworth, it was founded in 1794 and existed for twenty-three years before political and other circumstances forced Dom Antoine Saulnier de Beauregard and his community to leave England for France in 1817. There they re-founded the old Cistercian abbey of Melleray in Brittany.
Strangers in a Strange Land brings the story of Saint Susan’s monastery to light against the backdrop of a war between England and France, religious prejudice, conflicts of personality, lies, and misunderstanding. It introduces the dominant figure of the time, Dom Augustin de Lestrange, abbot of La Valsainte in Switzerland, as well as two others of major importance including the first prior of the house, Dom Jean-Baptiste Desnoyers, and the last and only abbot, Dom Antoine Saulnier de Beauregard.
By:
David N. Bell
Imprint: Liturgical Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 299
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 140mm,
Spine: 19mm
Weight: 425g
ISBN: 9780879072209
ISBN 10: 0879072202
Series: Cistercian Studies Series
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 29 March 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Adult education
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Contents Table of Figures xi A Note on Spelling xiii Preface xv Chapter One The Founders: Armand-Jean de Rancé and Augustin de Lestrange 1 Chapter Two The Lure of La Trappe 29 Chapter Three Popery, Prejudice, and the Welds of Lulworth 55 Chapter Four The Founding of the Monastery 79 Chapter Five Adverse Reactions 105 Chapter Six The First Prior: Dom Jean-Baptiste Desnoyers 125 Chapter Seven The Monks and the Monastery 149 Chapter Eight Monastic Life at Saint Susan’s 173 Chapter Nine The Voyage to Martinique and the Story of James Power 199 Chapter Ten James Power’s Accusations and Their Aftermath 223 Chapter Eleven Dom Antoine Saulnier de Beauregard and the End of Saint Susan’s 249 APPENDIX ONE Joseph Addison’s Description of La Trappe in Normandy in 1700 275 APPENDIX TWO Description of Saint Susan’s in 1800 by Richard Gough 278 APPENDIX THREE Description of Saint Susan’s in July 1800 by “P. F.” 281 APPENDIX FOUR Description of Saint Susan’s in March 1813 by “Father Paul” 286 APPENDIX FIVE Description of Saint Susan’s in June 1817 by Father Luke Bernard Barber 290 APPENDIX SIX The Six Illustrations in Thomas D. Fosbroke, British Monachism; or, Manners and Customs of the Monks and Nuns of England (London: M. A. Nattali, 1843), Opposite 306 310 APPENDIX SEVEN The Book Collection at Saint Susan’s 318 Select Bibliography 325 Index of Names and Places 331
David N. Bell is professor emeritus of religious studies and dean of theology at Queen's College, St. John's, Newfoundland, and canon theologian in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's. He is the author of a number of books published by Cistercian Publications, including The Very Devout Meditations attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, Handmaid of the Lord: Mary, the Cistercians, and Armand-Jean de Rancé (CS293, 2021), Everyday Life at La Trappe under Armand-Jean de Rancé (CS274, 2018), and A Saint in the Sun: Praising Saint Bernard in the France of Louis XIV (CS271, 2017).
Reviews for Strangers in a Strange Land: The Trappist Monastery of Saint Susan at Lulworth, Dorset, 1794–1817
"""David Bell has produced a lively and readable account of the Trappist Abbey of St. Susan in Lulworth, England. During its twenty-three years in a country then hostile to Catholicism, the Lulworth monastery served as a refuge for monks escaping the French Revolution and an important way station in the preservation and revival of monasticism in the early nineteenth century. Professor Bell's engaging history brings to life the personalities of the most important figures in St. Susan's history. Some of them played crucial roles in the larger Trappist revival like Augustin de Lestrange and Dom Antoine Saulnier de Beauregard who under government pressure led the St. Susan monks back to France to establish Melleray Abbey and help the restoration of monasticism in France."" Jay Butler, Independent Scholar-- (11/27/2023 12:00:00 AM)"
