Reviews for The rebel nun

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What could lead nuns to armed rebellion? In the sixth century, a group of nuns at Holy Cross monastery revolted against their new abbess. This thoughtful imagining of the underlying causes and characters involved in the revolt centers on Clotild, the leader of the insurrection. The bastard daughter of the king of the Franks, Clotild is brought to Holy Cross to become a nun after her father’s death. The cloister offers protection from the warring factions of the royal family. But when her expected election to become abbess is stymied by the odious local bishop, and the new abbess indulges herself and enriches her relatives while forcing the nuns to starve, it unleashes a chain of events that results in a battle for the soul of the monastery. Charlier carefully constructs a narrative that positions Clotild, a pagan at heart despite her outward piety, as a reluctant revolutionary who pushes for fairness in a Christian world increasingly dominated by men. With power available to so few women, Clotild dares to imagine freedom, despite its cost.

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