The Burdens of Sister Margaret: Inside a Seventeenth-Century Convent; Abridged Edition (Paperback)

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 an abridged paperbound version with a new preface by the author.

Reviews of the clothbound edition:

"A window to the past. . . . I loved, just loved, this book."-Carolyn See, Washington Post

"The world Mr. Harline uncovers is a fascinating one. . . . The story of Sister Margaret gives an extra dimension of humanity to a turning point in the history of ideas."-Sonia Gernes, Wall Street Journal

"Better-than-fiction social history. . . . This is a glimpse into diaries, letters, hearts, minds, hatreds, and hopes; it will enthrall."-Christian Century

"Harline's graceful writing allows the women and men in this religious community to breathe, gossip, pray with tears. . . . The Burdens of Sister Margaret helps us see the familiar Reformation in a fresh way."-Kevin A. Miller, Christianity Today

"Microhistory at its best."-Larissa Taylor, Renaissance Quarterly