An author receives a mysterious e-mail begging her to tell the story of Clare of Assisi, the thirteenth-century Italian saint. At first annoyed by the request, the author begins to research Saint Clare and becomes captivated by her life. We too are transported into the strange and beautiful world of medieval Italy, witnessing the daily rituals of convent life. At the center of that life is Saint Clare, a subversive and compelling figure full of contradictions: a physically disabled woman who travels widely in her imagination, someone unforgivingly harsh to herself yet infinitely generous to the women she supervises, a practitioner of self-abnegation who nevertheless knows her own worth. A visionary who liberated herself from the chains of materialism and patriarchy, Saint Clare here becomes an inspirational figure for a new generation of readers. 

 

DACIA MARAINI is one of Italy’s most pre-eminent and beloved writers. She has written over thirty plays, as well as such novels as Voci (Voices) and the international bestseller La Lunga Vita di Marianna Ucrìa (The Silent Duchess).  
 
JANE TYLUS is Andrew Downey Orrick Professor of Italian and Professor of Comparative Literature at Yale University. Her works include a translation of the complete poetry of Gaspara Stampa, the co-edited collection Early Modern Cultures of Translation (with Karen Newman), and the monograph Reclaiming Catherine of Siena, which won the MLA’s Howard Marraro Prize. 

RUDOLPH M. BELL was Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus, Rutgers University. He was the author of The Voices of Gemma Galgani: The Life and Afterlife of a Modern Saint, with Cristina Mazzoni.
 

Translator’s Preface
Introduction
In Praise of Disobedience
Notes on the Translation and References
About the Author and Translator