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Mood: Happy ]
Before I start, let me state that I LOVE Sarah Dunant’s Italian Renaissnce historical novels. They are so well researched and so well written that they pulled me into historical fiction, a genre that I hate. Why you ask? Because I have two history degrees and I spend far too much time nitpicking for me to even enjoy the book. So given that, you can imagine how much I was looking forward to this book.
But I digress, on to the review!
Sacred Hearts tells the story the inner life of a convent in Renaissance Italy, where easily half the nuns were placed there because the were unmarriageable or their families did not have the money for their doweries. Many others have entered the convent because there is no other choice for them. We see the politics as the truly religious clash with those who have no vocation as the reformation fast approaches the convent.
Mixed into this is a young novice who has been placed into the house of Santa Caterina because her romance with the music teacher could bring scandal to the family. Her fighting against the restrictions brings her into the relm of Suora Zuana, the apothecar mistress who struggles to make a connections with this angry young woman.
This novel is about small things in minor no-name lives, but it is completly engrossing. The ending, while not Hollywood by any means, gives you hope as you see how these characters are going to make the best out of a bad situation. Like all Sarah Dunant’s work, this book is meticulously researched, and it is this detail that brings this book to life.
It was so incredibly good.