The Nun

Denis Diderot, Russell Goulbourne (Lecturer in French, University of Leeds)

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English

Oxford University Press
15 October 2008

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Literary studies: general; Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800; Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers; Classic fiction (pre c 1945)

Series: Oxford World's Classics

'You can leave a forest, but you can never leave a cloister; you are free in the forest, but you are a slave in the cloister.'

Diderot's The Nun

(La Religieuse)

is the seemingly true story of a young girl forced by her parents to enter a convent and take holy orders.

A novel mingling mysticism, madness, sadistic cruelty and nascent sexuality, it gives a scathing insight into the effects of forced vocations and the unnatural life of the convent.

A succès de scandale

at the end of the eighteenth century, it has attracted and unsettled readers ever since. For Diderot's novel is not simply a story of a young girl with a bad habit; it is also a powerfully emblematic fable about oppression and intolerance.

This new translation includes Diderot's all-important prefatory material, which he placed, disconcertingly, at the end of the novel, and which turns what otherwise seems like an exercise in realism into what is now regarded as a masterpiece of proto-modernist fiction.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

By: Denis Diderot
Translated by: Russell Goulbourne (Lecturer in French University of Leeds)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 195mm, Width: 127mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 181g
ISBN: 9780199555246
ISBN 10: 0199555249
Series: Oxford World's Classics
Publication Date: 15 October 2008
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Nun

`Russell Goulbourne's wide-ranging introduction shows clearly how the work's past significance and it present meaning are linked: Goulbourne's excellent translation maintains the reader's involvement without sacrificing accuracy.' Times Literary Supplement