Steadfast

Saint Maur International School has sat on the bluff overlooking Yokohama, Japan since 1872. It is Japan's oldest international school and one of the oldest of its kind in the world. Historian, teacher, and author Glenn Scoggins celebrates the school's sesquicentennial with Steadfast: Saint Maur's First 150 Years on Yokohama's Bluff, presenting the fascinating, interlocking histories of Japan, Yokohama, and Saint Maur over the centuries. With a unique and idiosyncratic approach to history, Scoggins champions feminist histories, highlighting the fierce women who were foundational to the school. In the early days, there is the hopeful, steely Mother Mathilde Raclot under whose leadership and dedication the Saint Maur sisters established Saint Maur in a country where the practice of Christianity was still illegal. We also meet funny and fearless Sister Carmel O'Keefe; assigned the daunting task of overseeing the school in the immediate wake of World War II, she revives the school from the ashes and steers it into the 21st century. Having taught at Saint Maur for forty-five years, Scoggins also brings his expatriate perspective and story to the history. With its mix of primary-source material and firsthand accounts, Steadfast is expansive and intimate in its scope.