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A review by nyborasaur
The Nuns of Sant'ambrogio: The True Story of a Convent in Scandal by Hubert Wolf
5.0
I LOVED this book, the structure, the premise, the writing, the cover-up of the case, the reasons for covering up the case, I just loved it all. I know some reviewers have described it as slow, and boring, and a slog, and I can understand where these reviewers are coming from, but I have to wholeheartedly disagree. I was recently describing this book to a friend, gushing about the intricacies of the witness statements and structure of the Catholic Church’s legal system and watched as my friend’s eyes slowly started to glaze over with boredom, to which I responded defensively, "Well, it's about unearthing a secret cult and there are murder plots and poisonings too!"
I think I still lost her with the case details, but the thing is, Wolf shares all the scintillating particulars through a beautifully structured examination of case files, taking words and descriptions straight from the primary sources, the words of the nuns and witnesses of the time, while also supplying the reader with wonderful context through the political and historical events in the Catholic Church during that time. The reader feels immersed in these details, puzzling together the tale as both the investigating judge learns the truth behind Princess Katharina von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen’s claims of poisonings, and just as Wolf pieces together the story from the dust of the Vatican archives.
And it is this that I loved more than anything: the raw and rich primary sources, finally unearthed and shared with the reader, after decades of being hidden from the world, covered up until this book was published. It really makes you wonder what other fascinating cases are hidden in the depths of the Vatican City archives just waiting to be discovered.
TL;DR: Read this if you love a well-structured non-fiction book and you’re undaunted by the idea of an incredibly well-documented and detailed examination of the Roman Inquisition’s investigation of some crimes some nuns committed in 1858, along with a fair bit of contextualizing information regarding the political and theological upheaval of the time. Crimes committed include sexual deviances, murder plots, bribing, and of course, the veneration of a false saint.
Don't read this if you’re looking for a non-fiction tale chock full of lurid details about a lesbian sex cult, because this book doesn’t have ‘em. Any of these descriptions are taken straight from witness statements from the 19th century, and within the context of the events, they are anything but titillating.
I think I still lost her with the case details, but the thing is, Wolf shares all the scintillating particulars through a beautifully structured examination of case files, taking words and descriptions straight from the primary sources, the words of the nuns and witnesses of the time, while also supplying the reader with wonderful context through the political and historical events in the Catholic Church during that time. The reader feels immersed in these details, puzzling together the tale as both the investigating judge learns the truth behind Princess Katharina von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen’s claims of poisonings, and just as Wolf pieces together the story from the dust of the Vatican archives.
And it is this that I loved more than anything: the raw and rich primary sources, finally unearthed and shared with the reader, after decades of being hidden from the world, covered up until this book was published. It really makes you wonder what other fascinating cases are hidden in the depths of the Vatican City archives just waiting to be discovered.
TL;DR: Read this if you love a well-structured non-fiction book and you’re undaunted by the idea of an incredibly well-documented and detailed examination of the Roman Inquisition’s investigation of some crimes some nuns committed in 1858, along with a fair bit of contextualizing information regarding the political and theological upheaval of the time. Crimes committed include sexual deviances, murder plots, bribing, and of course, the veneration of a false saint.
Don't read this if you’re looking for a non-fiction tale chock full of lurid details about a lesbian sex cult, because this book doesn’t have ‘em. Any of these descriptions are taken straight from witness statements from the 19th century, and within the context of the events, they are anything but titillating.