Overview

The remarkable true story of a crossdressing, transatlantic adventurer who escaped from a Spanish convent in 1599 and lived as a man—gambling, fighting duels, and leading soldiers into battle A Beacon Classics edition, featuring a spot gloss cover and retro, classic palette One of the earliest known autobiographies by a woman, this is the extraordinary tale of Catalina de Erauso, who in 1599 escaped from a Basque convent dressed as a man and went on to live one of the most wildly fantastic lives of any woman in history. A soldier in the Spanish army, she traveled to Peru and Chile, became a gambler, and even mistakenly killed her own brother in a duel. During her lifetime she emerged as the adored folkloric hero of the Spanish-speaking world. She eventually revealed her true “condition” to a bishop, who was so moved that he pardoned her crimes, and even became a darling of the Pope, who granted her permission to continue her life as a man. Named a New York Times Book Review Notable Book, Lieutenant Nun not only questions other accounts of the Spanish conquest; it provides insight into a life of a woman who defied the gender roles of her time and became a hero for it. This delightful translation of Catalina's own work introduces a new audience to her audacious escapades.

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9780807024133

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Reviews

A rollicking, swashbuckling tale. -Los Angeles Times ""The frontier nun's rascally tale [is] a fascinating puzzle to decipher."" -Angeline Goreau, The New York Times Book Review ""A mesmerizing adventure!"" -Tama Janowitz ""[Catalina de Erauso] dared to steal the quest narrative from the roving men of her time and, miraculously, survived to tell the tale. An essential work for recovering the roots of women's autobiography and women's remaking of identity through encounters with otherness, not only in society but in the self."" -Ruth Behar, author of The Vulnerable Observer ""The Steptos' translation, without betraying the original, turns this memoir into compelling literature in English."" -Roberto González Echevarría, Sterling Professor of Hispanic and Comparative Literatures, Yale University

Author Information

Catalina de Erauso was born in Spain in either 1585 or 1592, according to disputed records, and died in 1650. Raised and educated in a convent, de Erauso refused to conform to the strict nature of the environment and, disguising herself in men’s clothing, escaped in 1600. As a fugitive, she then traveled to various countries and joined the Chilean military, climbing the ranks. Her story is told in Lieutenant Nun: Memoirs of a Basque Transvestite, which was originally wrote or dictated, and eventually published, in Paris in 1829.

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