The Wonder

The Wonder (2016) is a work of historical fiction by Irish Canadian novelist and playwright Emma Donoghue. Set in Ireland in the mid-1850s, The Wonder follows English nurse Lib Wright as she watches over Anna O’Donnell, a young Irish girl who claims not to have eaten for four months. The novel explores themes such as The Lasting Legacy of English Colonialism in Ireland, Redemption and the Importance of Second Chances, and The Unique Trauma of Child Loss. It was nominated for the Giller Prize, a prestigious Canadian literary award. In 2022, a film adaptation of the novel, co-written by Donoghue and starring Florence Pugh, was released via Netflix.

This summary is based on the 2016 hardcover edition published by Little, Brown and Company.

Content Warning: The novel contains depictions of eating disorders, sexual assault, and the loss of a child.

Plot Summary

The novel begins as Lib Wright, an English nurse trained by Florence Nightingale, arrives in a small Irish town called Athlone. Wright has been called to Athlone to watch over Anna O’Donnell, a young girl who claims not to have eaten for four months. Anna’s parents and her physician, Dr. McBrearty, believe that Anna is telling the truth, although Wright is confident that the girl is lying. Wright is paired with an Irish nun named Sister Michael to watch Anna in eight-hour shifts for two weeks to determine whether or not she is eating. During her first shift on Monday, Wright conducts a full physical examination of Anna, cleans her bedroom according to Nightingale’s principles, and searches the girl’s belongings for traces of food. She notes Anna’s extreme piety and refusal of anything except water.

In her first few days with Anna, Wright struggles to determine how the girl is surviving and whether outside influences such as family and visitors are providing support. Her accusations create tension with Anna’s mother Rosaleen O’Donnell, especially when Wright asks Dr. McBrearty to ban visitors from their home. Anna tells Wright that she lives off manna from heaven; Sister Michael explains that the biblical reference is to life-saving dew that fed the Israelites wandering in the desert.

At the “spirit grocery” where she is staying, Wright meets William Byrne, a young reporter sent by the Irish Times to investigate Anna’s claims. Byrne discovers that Wright is Anna’s nurse, and agrees to leave the family alone if she speaks with him. Their conversations add to Wright’s growing suspicion that Anna had been sneaking food before, but is actually starving as a result of the watch.

On Thursday, Wright determines that someone must have been feeding Anna without her knowledge prior to the watch. She shares her concerns with Dr. McBrearty, who warns her not to overstep her boundaries. The narrative reveals that Anna’s older brother, Pat, has not emigrated but died suddenly at the age of 14. Anna expresses deep concern that Pat’s soul is in purgatory because he didn’t have the chance to confess his sins. Meanwhile, Wright grows closer to William Byrne; she learns that he began his career as a reporter during the famine. His first article is released, flattering the O’Donnell family. Wright tells Sister Michael that she believes their watch is causing Anna to truly starve; Sister Michael refuses to intervene. On Saturday morning, Anna refuses to hug her mother.

That evening, Wright learns that the last food Anna ate before the fast began was her first communion. On Sunday, they go for a walk, but Anna is too weak to go far. On Monday morning, Wright takes Anna out for another walk, where she has arranged to meet Byrne. Byrne’s experience with starvation during the Great Famine confirms Wright’s fears: Anna is starving to death. Later, Byrne gives Wright a draft of an article in which he attributes Anna’s starvation to the vigilance of the watch. On Monday and Tuesday, as Anna weakens, Wright asks Sister Michael and Dr. McBrearty to stop the watch. Both refuse. Reviewing her notes on Wednesday, Wright realizes that Anna’s rapid decline began with her refusal to hug Rosaleen. Anna admits that her mother delivered the manna to her via a holy kiss, and says she no longer needs it. Wright tells Anna that she’ll die if she doesn’t eat. Anna smiles and nods.

When Anna tells Wright that she is fasting and praying in order to release her brother’s soul from purgatory, Wright decides she must report everything she knows to the committee. Despite mounting evidence, they refuse to call off the watch. Wright questions Anna about Pat’s sins, and Anna reveals that he sexually abused her starting at age nine. Wright decides to take Anna away from the O’Donnells, telling Byrne that she can’t watch another child die. The narrative reveals that Wright is not a widow, but that her husband abandoned her after their child died.

On Saturday evening, as the O’Donnell family attends a special mass, Wright tells Anna that God has given her holy milk which will allow Anna to die and be reborn as an eight-year-old girl named Nan. Anna agrees and drinks a spoonful of milk, breaking her week-long fast. Wright tells her to wake up as Anna. She carries her outside, where Byrne is waiting on a horse to take her away. Wright sets fire to the O’Donnell cottage and runs away. The next morning, Sister Michael tells Wright that she left the mass early and saw a vision of an angel carrying Anna away; Wright confirms that this was a true vision. The committee attributes the fire to carelessness, and Wright leaves Athlone alone.

In the novel’s Epilogue, onboard a ship to Australia, an English widow named Eliza Raitt prepares to marry an Irishman named Wilkie Burnes, a widower and father to a young girl named Nan. Wright has assumed the alias of Eliza Raitt and Byrne that of Wilkie Burnes; together they have embarked on a new life with Anna/Nan.