Sacred Hearts: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle) - Softcover

"A cast of complex characters breathe new life into the classic star-crossed lovers trope while affording readers a look at a facet of Renaissance life beyond the far more common viscounts and courtesans. Dunant's an accomplished storyteller, and this is a rich and rewarding novel."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Dunant's brilliant imagination is at its powerful best as she re-creates the routines, the crotchets and tiny details of convent life in 1570. The reader can hear the rustle of nuns' habits and the murmur of their prayers....[a] captivating novel...packed with complex relationships, passion, sorrow and religious devotion....this novel unequivocally does what fiction is supposed to do and rarely does: It takes us to a place we could never personally experience. Dunant creates such a living and tangible environment, built on meticulous yet unobtrusive research, that she shares with us the joys and sorrows, the frustration and anger, the rebellion, submission and sometimes even the presence of God."--Washington Post

"A great read that throws a light in a hidden corner of history, with a bonus: Although written for a secular crowd, it never discounts the possibility of miracles."--Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Engrossing.... Dunant brings the period vividly to life, portraying in detail the complex, claustrophobic world of the convent." --Boston Globe

"Original, engrossing, meticulously researched, this is a fascinating tale....This novel has everything: period detail, political intrigue, love, mystery, social strife, and epic cattiness." --Elle

Condemned by sixteenth-century demands for lucrative dowries in order to marry, young Serafina is ripped from an illicit love affair and confined in an Italian convent, a situation against which she passionately rebels and reminds the convent's doctor ofher own unhappy early years.