In This Vale of Tears

Revised 2023 Edition

Virginia Pearson and the beautiful Aine O'Riordan are among a group of young women entering the convent of the Sisters of the Suffering Saviour. Strange happenings torment the sensitive and withdrawn Aine O'Riordan. Virginia tries to comfort her, but the dark mysterious events force Aine out of the convent. With deep sorrow she leaves behind her dear friend to deal with the unexplained happenings and an atmosphere of foreboding that seems to infect the life of the convent.Virginia (later Sister Agnes), suspicious of fellow postulant Margaret McGuigan's (later Sister Catherine) role in this, enters into a barely suppressed conflict with her through their religious training to their university course in 1962. The intrusion of Virginia Pearson's former fianc? - and senior lecturer Dr Philip Stevenson - into her life as Sister Agnes adds an unexpected problem.Meanwhile, Aine has been lured into the world of fashion modelling and appears unaware of where personable photographer Harry is leading her. She unwittingly plays a connecting role in the deepening conflict and the continuing mysteries that see Virginia and Aine each rushing towards a crisis.The themes of the 'Goddess', neo-paganism, the occult and Gnosticism are a thread through the story. The ideological conflicts of the 1960s form the background to the story.