Author(s): Pietro Aretino

Fiction

This first unabridged English translation of an Italian masterpiece by the originator of European pornographic writing is the first in a series of 'The Secret Life of...' books by Aretino offering a delightfully shocking peek at what goes on behind closed doors. A prequel to The School of Whoredom (also published by Hesperus), The Secret Life of Nuns is a witty and salacious dialogue between Nana, and her confidante Antonia. Nana is in a quandary as to what to advise her daughter, Pippa, as she chooses her path in life. Should she become a nun, a whore, or a wife? In pondering this, Nana begins to tell of her own experiences of being a nun, and relates her adventures concerning her acceptance and initiation into a convent. In subverting the popular literary form of the dialogue, Aretino uses bawdy humour and colourful description to expose the human foibles and vice which he saw as inherent in religious life. The result is a vivid piece of prose that has endured for centuries.