A review by johndiconsiglio
The Nuns of Sant'ambrogio: The True Story of a Convent in Scandal by Hubert Wolf

3.0

A true-crime thriller about murderous lesbian nuns. So, really, what’s not to like? A German historian searched through secret Vatican archives to piece together this bizarre, sensationalistic historical drama. An 1850s Roman convent is overrun by orgies, exorcisms & killer nuns. The pope was not amused. OK, it’s actually a serious scholarly text on how a patriarchal church fomented religious hysteria (& even mental illness) among the same women it repressed. But, c’mon, how can you resist a book with a chapter titled “Unchastity & Sodomy”?