Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Beacon Press (MA) (1996), Hardcover, 80 pages
Description
"English version of Historia de la monja alférez (1988), the 'autobiographical' account of a Basque woman who fled convent life in Spain; made her way to the Indies disguised as a page boy; and spent 22 years as a soldier in the colonies, mostly in Chile and the Perus, in early 17th century. Traditionally rejected as a work of fiction, Catalina de Erauso's story has been verified - to the extent that verification is possible - as well as authenticated by recent scholarship. [MTH]"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lilithcat
My goodness, what an interesting life! I suppose my only frustration is that De Erauso was writing a confession, not a memoir, and so I was left very hungry for more. Just how she was able to get through situations such as being stripped and nearly racked without being revealed as a woman is
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something I'd really like to know. This is very much a "Perils of Pauline" story, and quite an interesting look at 16th-century Latin America and the Spaniards who settled there. Show Less
LibraryThing member hemlokgang
My daughter read this book during a college curse dedicated to the study of "Don Quixote". This and some other novellas were companion reads, examples of the "picaresque" novel. The difference in the case of this novella is that Lieutenant Nun really existed, and he was really a she disguised and
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living as a man. This autobiography from the early 1600s is somewhat difficult to believe, yet she really did exist and apparently was the subject of beloved folklore in Peru and Spain. Go figure! It was a quick and interesting read. Show Less
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
This book is a treasure! Throughout history women have gone underground to pursue their chosen professions, and Catalina de Erauso wanted to be a soldier. She got to be one, and wasn't the only military "maid" in the early seventeenth century. The life had its problems as well as its liberations.
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the tone of the translation is a masterly choice. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Nominee — 1996)
Language
Original publication date
1829 (posth.)
1894 (French)
Physical description
80 p.; 8.1 inches
ISBN
0807070726 / 9780807070727
Local notes
OCLC = 487
Google Books
Google Books
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