Mission to China: Matteo Ricci and the Jesuit Encounter with the East

pp. 284, black and white illustration section. Book in vg condition, remainder mark on bottom edge, otherwise unmarked, dustjacket wrapped in protective bro-dart covering. “Piecing together trial and visitation records, Mary Laven has produced a riveting portrait of the nuns’ hidden world. She shows that despite attempts to clamp down on the nuns’ behaviour the old ways continued. And she introduces a host of fascinating characters, like Deodata, who sewed surplices as love tokens for the friars in a nearby house; Faustina di Polo, who (rumored to be pregnant) ran away from her convent three times; and Laura Querini, who was so determined to sleep with her lover that she knocked a hole in the convent wall for him to climb through.”