A novel that brings the reader into the minds and hearts of the participants. Having been raised Roman Catholic I was familiar with many of the rituals and procedures performed by the nuns and priest.

All characters are fully fleshed-out and believable. Dunant does a superb job of conveying the claustrophobia of the nunnery, the forbidding high walls, the dark solitude of each night in the "cells". But there is also beauty and serenity inside the convent. The details and background information about the dispensary sister, her garden, and her remedies (learned from her doctor father) were well researched and explained.

It is sobering to note that many of these women were sent to convents against their will. Their fathers, brothers and families controlled them and dictated their lives. Sending one daughter to a convent left more money to increase the dowries of remaining daughters and thus insured good "matches". Sons were given estates when their fathers died. Daughters were treated like pawns in political power-plays. And "giving" a daughter to the church was looked upon with favor by the powerful elite of the church. Daughters who were born disfigured, were slow learners, average (or worse) in beauty, or DISOBEDIENT were packed off to become nuns.

And many times they were forced to become nuns against their will because of their families' "agendas". Women of the time were considered
"property" of the family--to be used to promote the family wealth or aid in societal advancement.

The author succeeds in showing us the despair and terror that many of these young women may have experienced...in the dark...all alone...for the first few nights in the convent. Or for the rest of their lives...

One of the best books I've ever read and I highly recommend it!