Sixteenth century Italy was a time in history when young women found themselves being forced into convent life against their will. The price of wedding dowries was so high that Italian aristocratic families could choose only one daughter to be married off. Any other daughters in the family were sent to convents where the cost to marry them to Christ was affordable. By the turn of the century, the Roman Catholic Church pushed through a counter-reformation movement through cruelly restrictive measures instituted at the convents across Italy – including walling up windows, redesigning churches so that the nuns were hidden from the congregation, ending family visitations, and the confiscation of personal items such as furniture and books.
Sarah Dunant’s novel is set amid this tumultuous time and is a glimpse into convent life through the eyes of a 16 year old girl, who has been sent to the convent against her wishes, and an older nun who has spent most of her life imprisoned behind the convent walls of Santa Caterina.
Sacred Hearts is narrated from the alternating viewpoints of the nun and the novice.
Dunant brings to life the beauty and the horror of convent life in this historical novel. Although the first part of the book was a bit slow, it was necessary to introduce the characters who would later play a major role in the outcome. Once I reached the mid-way point of the novel, I found it impossible to put down.
Highly recommended *****
JW
Leave a Comment
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
