Letters of a Portuguese Nun: Uncovering the Mystery Behind a 17th Century Forbidden Love

by Miriam Cyr

Provides an eye-opening look at a series of remarkable and passionate letters that chronicle a tumultuous seventeenth-century love affair between a young Portuguese nun and a French officer, written by the nun, Mariana Alcoforado, when her lover was forced to return to France. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical, Womens, Memoir

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Marla]

I don't know where to begin. Short book you can finish in one setting. It should have been titled "I Hate You, Don't Leave Me". It is NOT a mystery and NOT about love. This is a good history book. Then it includes the 5 supposedly authentic "love" letters written by the nun Mariana. I saw no evidence of "love"...obsession, neediness, possessiveness, clinginess, craziness, psycho behavior...yes, love no.

The thing I learned from this book is that women have always been the same, even 350 years ago. Mariana could have been any one of three of my friends, only more poetic. Mariana needed a girlfriend to tell her, "honey, he doesn't deserve you...you can do better." Or better, HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU.

Of course Chamilly (her cad lover...I never saw anything but lust from him) benefitted greatly from the publication of the letters...making him a chic magnet for years. The letters have been a controversy from the beginning...are they real or no? My own theory was that it was really one huge, practical joke, perpetrated by his fellow soldier buddies as a way to bed the local women. Now THAT would be funny.

[Rachelfm]

Scandal. War-time nun on French captain romance inside the convent walls. A fresh look at 17th century, tumultuous Portugal and some of the most famous (for the time) love letters, widely published in several languages, that come on the heels of illicit romance. Smart, spunky nun gets to know dashing, hunky French army captain when the French come in to aid Portugal during the civil war. The hook up on...wait for it...The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Dashing, hunky French captain returns to France, nun sends him the 17th century equivalent of about 873 text messages, voicemails, and breakup mix tapes (e.g. Road to Closure, vol. 9.)

I thought the history part was pretty interesting, but with the holes in the story (e.g. the hunky French captain's responses to the unhinged missives) it's hard to get a full picture of this couple. I can see the universal appeal here, and the book was sufficient to provide context. I guess that psychotically unrequited love just isn't my bag.

[Alexandra]

this was such a fanstastic read. I found it so interesting. A good film maker could make this one heck of a romantic movie

[Othón A. León]

A masterpiece by Myriam Cyr...

"It may be you will find greater beauty, but NEVER will you find such love, and all the rest is nothing"... such are the words written by 26 years old Mariana Alcoforado in a first letter -as she was a shut nun in 1665 Portugal- to her recently lost lover, a kind of misteryous, tall, intelligent, handsome and passionate french officer (monsieur Chamilly) who's destiny brought him to the scene of a local civil warfare thet involved stationed troops and a few times romantic encounters...

In 1669, in Paris, a volume entitled "Portuguese letters" was published by the most successful publisher in town, the thing was -maybe- not even him expected such a fire started out of these five love texts... and the derived controversy in regards to whom these words really belonged to, for many thought they were a fictional work... such was their power on european societies at the time. Now, for anyone who ever has lived such kind of fire in his / her belly, it is clear such controversy is absurd... the letters were written by Mariana, no doubt... or in any case don't believe me! judge by yourself... just be prepared to look at this mirror of adventure, pain, erotism, love, life and dead... after all, as a popular salon game played in 1664 Paris that involved 34 inconvenient questions in which one of them read:

"In love what is the greatest crime? to be refused or not to have dared to ask?

[Susan Chapek]

Grateful to Myriam Cyr for making the Letters readily available in English, and for providing the background and research on an obscure but fascinating and significant episode in literary (as well as literal) history.

[Kaitlin]

I tried so hard to enjoy this book. It was extremely dry, however, and even the letters were lackluster and read as texts or emails from a spurned teenager would today. The love affair really failed to capture my attention, and there were too many others mentioned adjacent to the main story to really place my attention on one.

[Alayna Boone]

Very interesting read! A little… dull at moments but i liked it! Mariana is also an interesting woman to learn about. Her writing is flowery, but as the book said, she is kind if relatable in her words of heartbreak

[Christina Cruz]

Too much history - names, dates... only thing I️ enjoyed were the actual letters - beautiful pieces of writing! If you get the book, skip right to the chapter with the LETTERS!!!

[ashley]

dnf page 94

[Cait McKay]

What an unnecessary little vanity project!

Full review to follow

[Mary]

I enjoyed this story of Mariana Alcoforado, the Portuguese Nun; of her lover, Chamilly; and of the history of the area. I picked up this book from our local library never having heard anything about the book published in 1669 by a Parisian Bookseller - but it was about a book, so how could I resist?

Myriam Cyr puts forth that argument with research and logic that Mariana is the true author of "The Letters of a Portuguese Nun". Ms. Cyr does a good job of explaining about the history of Portugal during this time frame, I hadn't realized how France was involved in fighting against the Spanish. I also didn't know how the nuns lived during this time frame, they had perhaps a better life - at least those of the nobility - than women who were married off to men. Terrific background for a really wonderful little story. Ms. Cyr talks about Mariana's life, and in a way that reads like fiction; giving her reasons for why she believes Mariana wrote "The Letters".

If you are a fan of history I would recommend this well-researched story. It makes me want to read more - and isn't that the best recommendation, when a book makes you want to continue reading?

[Verity]

I initially picked up the book thinking it would have an introduction covering the background and history of the period surrounding the letters, with the majority of the text being the actually letters. Much to my surprise, it was quite the reverse. The history of the period and mystery surrounding the letters was nicely explained to the level of those who are not a fan of reading about history (or herstory). The letters did take me back to times when I have felt used and rejected by those I thought had more than a passing fancy. I don't agree with one of the reviews that Mariana should have "just gotten over it" as it applies contemporary ideas of love and sex on the past. The reviewer seems to have forgotten that Mariana spent the majority of her life in a convent with little access to the outside world and was subject to different rules governing propriety.

I would recommend this to people who want a light reading on the Portuguese Letters.

[Fionnuala]

The seventeenth century smash hit Letters of a Portuguese Nun was one of those works I half thought I'd read but never actually picked up (Don Quixote's another one). The letters themselves are shocking, raw and sensational - I see why simply everyone at Louis XIV's court had to have an opinion on them. The force of a woman's rage against not just an individual man but the system that gives him all the freedoms she desires burn through the centuries, and can't have made for comfortable reading at the time of the great (women-run) salons, and of increasingly aggressive politically powerful women (eg the French queen and king-maker of Portugal). Myriam Cyr gives valuable background on the protagonists and the time period, but her writing is so hackneyed it was a struggle getting through the fifty-odd pages of her framing narrative to the letters.

[Patricia]

I am so angry at myself when I think of all I sacrificed for you: I have lost my reputation, I exposed myself to my family's fury, to the severity of this country's laws against nuns, moreover to your ingratitude, which seems to me to be the greatest of my woes. And yet, I can see that my remorse is not real, that in earnest, I would have liked, for love of you, to have encountered greater dangers...

Imagine. A real-life love affair between a nun and a soldier in the 1600s with civil war as backdrop. My heart was broken for these lovers even before I started reading about them. But the above passage is as good as it gets. Sure, it's non-fiction but the writing felt too detached for my taste it bordered on clinical.

[Adleen]

What I learned from this book, in 200 words or fewer:

Once more the Fergus bookstore provides, this time with a tome on Les lettrs portugaises, which I'd heard about but never actually read. Anyways, this is Cyr's attempt to solve the mystery of the letters' original authorship. It's not terrible, altho. the writing is sloppy in places. At one point, Cyr briefly delves into some research on how publication functioned in Ancien Regime France, which is a good idea, but not too deeply developed. Overall, could have used some scholarly guidance but a nice little introduction to the various arguments and scholarship surrounding this particular debate on female authorship.

[Veldi]

It is well-written, but with all the items in the long bibliography list it just could not justify its criteria that the letters were really penned by the Portuguese nun; you just cannot take two people from history and say, well here, look- time fits gender fits place fits and it must be true. Or we can say "The other Boleyn girl" is a Hampton Court royal record. It will be beautiful and terrific if Miss Cyr can keep it a fictional historial romance, rather than a research report attempted to prove her point. This perspective can hardly gain her credit. But as a romantic fiction this is quite a good read.

[mary]

i wanted this to be a heartwrenching tale of unrequited love that only a lovesick nun could tell. instead there was a lot of backstory about the nun and her lover that had more to do with the war than their forbidden relationship. it was, at best, a "nice" account of a scandalous affair that NO ONE actually had specifics on. the best writing was the letters themselves, which the author gave so much lead up to that i was expecting to see a drumroll typed out before i turned to them on the next page. read it if you want to learn about Portuguese war strategies from 1665.

[Jami]

Cyr provides interesting historical context to the Letters from a Portuguese Nun. Her theory is well researched, but I wish there was more focus on the romance. She also seems to be very forgiving of Chamily and his abandonment of Mariana.
I appreciate that she included the letters. The letters themselves are heart wrenching, especially with the knowledge that Mariana could never find live again. The sentiments she expresses of betrayal and desperation transcend time.

[Sue]

I found the book very interesting, but can say it's probably not for everyone. The mystique built up around the letters is far more intriguing than the actual content of the letters. Basically, when I read them my thought was "OK, this guy dumped you, get over it!". Still, the history in the book is interesting and I do recommend it if you're clear up front that it's no magic story.

[Lisa Corathers]

I was disappointed with this book, although the letters reportedly written by the nun Marianna to her French lover, Chamilly, were very poignant indeed. (I say reportedly, as there are still scholarly questions as to who actually authored them. I, for one, see no reason to think Marianna didn't write them.)

[Olivia]

The letters in this book are a must-read; the book itself is a very basic introduction to the letters and their historical context. While I enjoyed this book, I see it as a good starting point for learning more about the period and the lives of Portuguese nuns...which I had had no idea were so fascinating!

[Jenna]

Not exactly what I was expecting, I thought it was going to be more like the actual letters. Instead author paints an interesting story about who this nun could have been and what the motives behind the letters were. Great read, quick and interesting

[LuAnn]

This was a fascinating look at one iota of history. I found it quite compelling, although I wish more of the book had actually dealt with the romance itself rather than some of the dry historical facts of the day.

[Sara]

While I did enjoy the letters more than anything, I did not enjoy the dry historical facts. Though they helped me understand the background of the letters, sometimes they were full of too much information.

[Genie Searcy]

tenderly touching. a lot of lead up to the letters. however, i didn't mind the historical info a bit.

[Mili]

Mariana Alcoforado fascinates me! I wish there were more books about her.

[AskNezka]

Really interesting narrative history ... author makes a compelling argument for the identity of the nun, and the nun's love letters are very moving.

[Fredrika]

I liked this edition because Cyr included the back story and her reasoning for believing the letters to be real. The letters will break your heart.

[Dagbjört Ásgeirsdóttir]

I liked the scenery, place and time in history and the characters, but I only made it to the middle of the story.

[Larae]

Fascinating book!