A Garden of Girls; Or, Famous Schoolgirls of Former Days

The author reconstructs the schooling and daily lives of notable girls from various periods and countries through historical sketches and diary extracts. Individual portraits range from early medieval convent education to Renaissance and eighteenth‑century domestic and academic training, illustrated by figures such as Darlugdacha, St. Elizabeth, Cecilia Gonzaga, Margaret More, Marie Jeanne d’Aumale, and two schoolgirl diarists. Episodes combine archival detail, narrative scenes, and reflections on religious instruction, social customs, and pedagogical practices, closing with literary portraits that invite comparison with contemporary concerns about girls’ education, especially in Ireland.