| 商家名称 | 信用等级 | 购买信息 | 订购本书 |
 |
 |
Letters of a Portuguese Nun: Uncovering the Mystery Behind a 17th Century Forbid |  |
 |
|
Letters of a Portuguese Nun: Uncovering the Mystery Behind a 17th Century Forbid | |
The letters took Paris by storm. They spoke of love in a manner so direct, so precise, and so raw, they sent shivers of recognition through the sophisticated stratums of polite society. Equally remarkable was the mystery that surrounds the letters: the author was unknown, and most people assumed they were the fictional product of a French aristocrat. Now, Myriam Cyr persuasively makes the case that the nun, Mariana Alcoforado, did indeed write the letters, and her story is one of the most moving in the history of forbidden love.
作者简介 Myriam Cyr worked as a journalist for Radio Canada International before embarking on an international theater career. She has appeared in numerous television shows and films, including I Shot Andy Warhol. She lives in Massachusetts with her family. This is her first book.
媒体推荐 ". . . teasing the details of this story from mountains of historical fact and hysterical speculation." -- Los Angeles Times
"An empathetic look at the most controversial epistles in European history . . . Pulp romance for the Masterpiece Theater set." -- Kirkus
"Generous and astute, and her conviction rings the letters honorably. We owe her thanks for heralding them here." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer
专业书评 From Publishers Weekly
In 1669, five letters, supposedly written by a Portuguese nun, were published in Paris. They spoke of heartbreak at the desertion of a French lover after a passionate affair. The letters were a resounding success in French polite and literary society, and almost immediately sparked a controversy. Were they really the anguished cries of a scorned woman or the work of a talented male writer desperate for employment? Cyr, a stage and screen actress, claims—contra most scholars—that Mariana Alcoforado, the daughter of a rich and influential family, wrote the letters to the dashing French officer Chamilly after he returned to France. The story is fascinating, and Cyr does a good job of setting the context of 17th-century Portuguese and French life, explaining the role of convents in social and commercial realms as well as the international politics that brought Chamilly to Portugal. It's clear that Cyr did extensive research; she is not, however, a writer or a historian. Though her account is compelling and plausible, proof of Mariana's authorship, or even that she had an affair with Chamilly, remains circumstantial at best, and Cyr's argument rests on her own strong response to the sentiments in the letters. (Jan. 11)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
In 1669, a Parisian bookseller published a volume of love letters that took Paris by storm. Purportedly written by a Portuguese nun to a French officer, they detailed a forbidden love affair so passionate it captured the imagination of an entire nation. Although debate remained as to the identity, sex, and status--an impoverished writer, perhaps?--of the author, the letters themselves touched a collective chord in the hearts and the minds of the literati. Centuries later, Cyr traces the origins of the letters to Mariana Alcoforado, the cloistered daughter of a Portuguese aristocrat. As the tale of the star-crossed lovers unfolds, one gets the sense that Cyr is more caught up in the possibilities of a romantic love story than in actually authenticating the authorship of the letters. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Los Angeles Times
". . . teasing the details of this story from mountains of historical fact and hysterical speculation."
Kirkus
"An empathetic look at the most controversial epistles in European history . . . Pulp romance for the Masterpiece Theater set."
Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Generous and astute, and her conviction rings the letters honorably. We owe her thanks for heralding them here."
