This is the first in-depth study of post-war female religious life. Rooted in the lived experiences of women religious in Britain, it explores British modernity, the social movements of the long 1960s and the Second Vatican Council, while acknowledging transnational relationships and global interconnectivities within and across national divides.

Carmen M. Mangion is Senior Lecturer in Modern History at Birkbeck, University of London

1 Introduction
2 Before the Council: post-war modernity and religious vocations
3 The modern girl and religious life
4 Governance, authority and '1968'
5 Relationships, generation discourse and the 'turn to self'
6 The world in the cloister and the nun in the world
7 Local and global: changing ministries
8 Becoming a woman
9 Conclusion
Index