Lieutenant Nun

The True Story of a Cross-Dressing, Transatlantic Adventurer Who Escaped from a Spanish Convent in 1599 and Lived as a Man

By: Catalina de Erauso, Michele Stepto - translator, Gabriel Stepto - translator

Narrated by: Adriana Pascua

Length: 3 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

THE TRUE STORY OF A CROSSDRESSING TRANSATLANTIC ADVENTURER WHO ESCAPED FROM A SPANISH CONVENT IN 1599 AND LIVED AS A MAN—GAMBLING, FIGHTING DUELS, AND LEADING SOLDIERS INTO BATTLE

Named a New York Times Book Review Notable Book

One of the earliest known autobiographies by a woman, this is the extraordinary tale of Catalina de Erauso, who in 1599 escaped from a Basque convent dressed as a man and went on to live one of the most wildly fantastic lives of any woman in history. A soldier in the Spanish army, she traveled to Peru and Chile, became a gambler, and even mistakenly killed her own brother in a duel. During her lifetime she emerged as the adored folkloric hero of the Spanish-speaking world. This delightful translation of Catalina's own work introduces a new audience to her audacious escapades.

©2017 Michele Stepto and Gabriel Stepto (P)2024 Beacon Press Audio

Critic reviews

"The frontier nun's rascally tale [is] a fascinating puzzle to decipher."—Angeline Goreau, The New York Times Book Review

"[Catalina de Erauso] dared to steal the quest narrative from the roving men of her time and, miraculously, survived to tell the tale. An essential work for recovering the roots of women's autobiography and women's remaking of identity through encounters with otherness, not only in society but in the self."—Ruth Behar, author of The Vulnerable Observer

"A rollicking, swashbuckling tale."—Los Angeles Times