Interesting story of a nun who became the abbess of her convent in early 17th century Italy. She was a mystic, charismatic, and unconnected to the powerful families at the time. You know this won't end very well. Brown ran across a reference to a trial of Sister Benedetta in the archives, and rather than relegate her to a lengthy footnote, Brown wrote a book about her.

It almost works. Brown situates the Sister as a lightening rod of attitudes towards lesbianism in late Renaissance Italy. She bases this on the fact that Sister Benedetta was eventually stripped of her position after an investigation into charges of sodomy with another nun.

Brown does a wonderful job of explaining the atmosphere of the day, and the role of convents as places for extra daughters (regardless of their religious fervor). Where the explanation falters is on Occan's Razor. From the evidence Brown presents, it seems more likely Benedetta's fall from grace was because of her gender, and lack of a powerful family to give her status, not any sexual preference. The 'Sin that could not be named" in other cases led to execution, yet for Benedetta it was merely a tacked on charge trying to discredit her in the public eye after she had presumed too much as a woman. Still, an interesting look at a long ago time.

Fly far little book!

Sent off in the LGBTQ+ Bookbox to find a new reader!


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Taken from the bookbox.

I enjoyed this book, although I found the title misleading. The main focus of this book is on Sister Benedetta's supposed communications with God and the assorted examinations that other religious members brought to bear on her claims. The concerns of homosexuality didn't come up until late in the investigation and what her actual sexuality may have been is unclear, since the incidents were so heavily mixed up in her other claims of religious action.

Sister Benedetta is certainly an interesting figure, if not a very likable one. I found myself wondering what had inspired her apparent scams, since we saw her present so many different versions of herself, from a simple, child-like messenger to a mean-spirited tyrant of the Abbey. I wondered if, in these modern days, there would have been a diagnosis of some kind of personality disorder, or if accounts have simply become so garbled over the centuries that her actual actions and beliefs have been lost.

Sent out as part of my Too Many Books RABCK

Sure, girls just want

to have fun,
but they don't always

know when to stop.