Sarah Dunant
VIDEO>> Novelist Sarah Dunant explores the secret habits of 16th Century nuns
In a varied career from contemporary thriller writer to acclaimed presenter of late night culture, Sarah has most recently conquered best seller lists both here and in America with ‘The Birth of Venus’, and ‘In the Company of the Courtesan’ - her meticulously researched historical novels set in Renaissance Italy. She’s now completed this trilogy with her latest ‘Sacred Hearts’. It takes us into the confined world of a 16th Century Italian convent where a young noblewoman is forced to become a very unwilling bride of Christ.
Watch Sarah Dunant on The Book Show at Hay:
Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
1570 in the Italian city of Ferrara, and the convent of Santa Caterina is filled with noble women who are married to Christ because many cannot find husbands outside. Enter sixteen-year-old Serafina, ripped by her family from an illicit love affair, howling with rage and hormones and determined to escape. While on the other side of the great walls, counter-reformation forces in the Church are pushing for change, inside, Serafina's spirit and defiance ignite a fire that threatens to engulf the whole convent.
Sarah’s summertime reads include:
A Woman in Berlin by anonymous
Hodd by Adam Thorpe
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