María Vela y Cueto was a controversial figure in Counter-Reformation Spain. Some of her contemporaries regarded the visions, voices, and strange maladies she received as signs of divine favor; others suspected her of fraud or even heresy. After her death, her account of her life and spiritual experiences was lost to posterity until the twentieth century. This volume allows English-readers to encounter the sometimes infuriating, always fascinating, María Vela in her own words. Susan Laningham’s insightful introduction and notes, based on years of persistent scholarship, helpfully locate Vela in historical and historiographical context. Jane Tar’s careful and sensitive translation renders the Spanish nun’s writing accessible to a modern audience. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of religion, gender, and the body in post-Tridentine Catholic culture.Jodi BilinkoffProfessor, Department of History, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
