The Burdens of Sister Margaret: Inside a Seventeenth-Century Convent

by Craig Harline

Book Overview

Based on a treasure trove of letters, this fascinating book tells the history of a seventeenth-century nun in a convent in Leuven and how her complaints--of sexual harassment, fears of demonic possession, alliances among the other sisters against her--led to her banishment from the convent on two occasions. Highly acclaimed when it was first published as a revealing look at female religious life in early modern Europe, the book is now available in...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300081219
• ISBN13: 9780300081213
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Better Than Fiction

Once you start it is hard to put this book down. The story of Sister Margaret is a tale demonic possession, sex, and hate. At the side time the secret convent life of the 17th century is exposed. The book is an easy, entertaining read that also teaches of female religious life in early modern Europe. It is a refreshing way to approach history and the subject of women and convents.