LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN

Author: Myriam Cyr ISBN: 0786869119 1/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: MIRAMAX
Time Period: 1600's Portugal/France

In 1669, a Parisian bookseller published a slim volume called Portuguese Letters, which unveiled a love affair between a young Portuguese nun and a French officer that had occurred a few years earlier during a chaotic and war torn period in Portugal. The book contained passionate love letters the nun had written when the officer was forced to return to France. The letters took Paris by storm. They spoke of love in a manner so direct, so precise, and so raw that they sent shivers of recognition through the sophisticated strata of polite society. Through the centuries they have captured the hearts of poets and painters alike and retain all of their beauty and power today. Stendhal said 'one has not loved until they have loved like the Portuguese nun.' Braque and Matisse tried to imagine her. As remarkable as the letters are, they are rivaled by the mystery that surrounds them. Scholars debate whether a Portuguese nun could have written words of such stunning truth and beauty preferring to believe that a French aristocrat wrote the letters in answer to a dare. Through meticulous research, Myriam Cyr persuasively makes the case that the nun, Mariana Alcoforado, is indeed the author of one of the great literary masterpieces of the seventeenth century. Mariana's story is one of the most moving in the history of forbidden love.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Many of us are familiar with the game of Valentines, a courtly love game played hundreds of years ago. This, however, was the first time I had heard of the apparently infamous letters written to a French knight by a Portuguese nun. It is a matter of no small debate among historians as to whether they were authored by a nun or merely a work of fiction written by a man on a dare.

Myriam Cyr believes they were penned by the nun, Mariana Alcoforado. With LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN, she puts forth an impressive and convincing argument.

This is a work of non-fiction, often feeling as if it should be a paper submitted by a professor. Ms. Cyr has obviously taken this task very seriously, not on a whim. Well, perhaps it was begun on a bit of a whim, but still very important and dear to her. The research is beyond reproach, in my opinion.

Not only did she extensively research Mariana and the knight, Chamilly, but also key persons of the times that both directly and indirectly affected their lives, both before and after the affair, little and well-known facts of the time period, customs, events and even laws. Her argument is supported by these facts. It is supported, likewise, by facts she has discovered or previously disregarded that show Mariana was sometimes an exception to the rules; the exception to the assumptions applied to a woman of her time. The same can be said to some degree of Chamilly.

But having all the research in the world does not guarantee it will be read past the first paragraph unless, of course, it is presented well. In this, I find Ms. Cyr is especially successful.

Ms. Cyr does not just present her argument but also relevant pieces of arguments already put forth and agreed upon, including those that counter her own. It is left to the reader to make an informed decision in this debate. Her resources are listed if the desire is there to investigate further. In addition, the letters are presented in a likely chronological order. The reader is also given what examples she has been able to acquire from the Game of Valentines and the Thirty-two Questions of Love, another game mentioned several times in the book.

Still, I did not feel I was merely being handed a list of facts, theories and suppositions. I was handed the time period as it was, and as it changed, and a feeling for the reality of it. This only enhances what the letters do on their own. The frustration, anguish, a heart wrenched and confounded is presented by Mariana's words to Chamilly. I felt sympathy and empathy for the nun, felt her shame. Through Ms. Cyr, I understood it better, as well as the resulting consequences for not only the nun and the knight, but those who followed them.

In the end, I have to say Myriam Cyr has convinced me. She should be very proud of her work. It is worthy of any scholar's attention, as far as I am concerned. It wouldn't surprise me to find LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN listed in the syllabus for any number of courses offered at universities. It is also a book that would be of interest to general fans of history and literature specific to this time.

Well done, Ms. Cyr.

Sue Cloud