Shortlisted for the inaugural Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction 2010.
September 2009 Good Housekeeping selection.
Convent life, you’d imagine, is one you choose – a vocation. But this searing story of the nuns of Santa Caterina in 16th-century Italy reveals how enforced convent entry was common for noble women who couldn’t find husbands, or, like 16-year-old Serafina, who are sent by their family to end unsuitable relationships. Serafina’s horror at her incarceration is palpable, but as a bond develops with Zuana, the nun who treats the sisters for illness, repressed emotion and self-inflicted wounds, so does a glimmer of hope.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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