Impossible Saints (Harvest Book) - Softcover

Roberts, Michéle

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156006596 ISBN 13: 9780156006590

Publisher: Mariner Books, 1999

Synopsis

What does it take for a woman to be judged saintly? In this wily, wonderfully original novel, Mich�le Roberts tells the story of the fictional Saint Josephine: her life and death, her childhood and evolution from woman to nun to abbess, her unlikely canonization. The more we discover, the more incredible her sainthood seems. Who was Saint Josephine? Craven nun or fearless miracle worker? Pious role model or seductress? Illuminating Saint Josephine's story are the equally fantastical stories of eleven actual female saints: mad one-armed girls, beauties locked in towers, mothers who encourage their daughters' fatal anorexia, ingenues who seduce and dismember their fathers. Together the stories expose the historical conflict between female sexuality and religion, the roots of female roles in the church, and the troubled love between fathers and daughters. In original exploration of love, faith, and desire, Impossible Saints is a funny, disturbing, and utterly compelling novel about modern women who came before their time.

About this title

About the Author

Michle Roberts is half English and half French and divides her time between both countries. She is the author of seven novels, three books of poetry, and a collection of stories. Her 1992 novel, Daughters of the House, won the W. H. Smith Literary Award and was short-listed for the Booker Prize.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0156006596
• ISBN 13: 9780156006590
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320