Memoirs of a Nun (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics) [Hardcover]

Denis Diderot (Author)

Book Description

Series: Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics | Publication Date: June 30, 1992

(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author

P. N. Furbank is Visiting Professor in Literature at the Open University and author of E. M. Forster: A Life. Other publications include Samuel Butler: 1835-1902, Italo Svevo: the Man and the Writer, Unholy Pleasures: the Idea of Social Class and (with W. R. Owens) The Canonisation of Daniel Defoe.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Everyman's Library (June 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679413243
• ISBN-13: 978-0679413240
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #936,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading., May 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Memoirs of a Nun (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics) (Hardcover)

Very enlightening about the atmosphere in convents at that time and in that place. Reminds me of Lewis' -The Monk- which treats of the same subject and has much the same viewpoint which is that religion is all right but the church is not.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling, March 20, 2007

By 

Christine A. Clay (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Memoirs of a Nun (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics) (Hardcover)

For me, it's definitely a page turner. I chose this book for the subject of my master's thesis in French lit. Diderot truly brings to life the sufferings of his heroine, Suzanne. The idea of forcing young women to take vows had already fallen out of favor at the time Diderot wrote this novel, so it was not as revolutionary as it may seem. All the same, Suzanne arouses the reader's sympathy and we follow her in anguish from convent to convent and long for her escape.

One caveat: You may find it disturbing that the author depicts female communities, above all religious communities, as inherently sick. This is not necessarily an accurate picture of convent life in 18th-century France, even though Diderot includes many factual details about ceremonies and daily life in religious orders.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Variety Is Still The Spice of Life, March 24, 2006

By 

Katherine Graham "Katherine Graham" (Sparta, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Memoirs of a Nun (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics) (Hardcover)

For me, this is probably the greatest Masterpiece in fiction ever written about a religious. Sure, others are free to disagree. But if this isn't your thing - forget about it! If you, like me, are intensely passionate and curious about the lives of religious as brilliantly penned here by the genius, Denis Diderot - you will not be disappointed especially at Amazon.com's incredibly great price. One of the best books ever so long as you agree to disagree that what's great to some will not be for others.