This novel opens a previously closed world, telling the story of a fight for female liberation. In the 19th century, many rebellious girls in Italy were forced to live out their lives behind convent walls. The author, a former resident of Kennington, is always thorough in her research and for The Nun she spent three months staying in convents from Sicily to Lombardy. It opens with Marriage of Figaro gusto but soon takes you into dark places of the soul. After a few chapters of this beautifully written book, I was hooked by her memorable heroine, Agata. Once the reader suspects the suffering that lies ahead for this spirited girl, the book becomes hard to put down.

It is a poignant love story set against a turbulent era in Italian history and the detail of the enclosed world is gripping. It would make a stunning film, but in the meantime the Europa edition is sensuously tactile.