The synopsis sounded amazing which is what drew me to this book. It started out good, I was hooked, and as the story progressed I lost more and more interest in the story.

I am so intrigued by books about nuns/monasteries/that religious lifestyle, and I'm very glad I took a chance on THE REBEL NUN. The pages flew by for me in this short, but interesting, little read!

I really tried to get into this novel because it is based on a real person. However, this novel seemed very unrealistic. None of the characters seemed well-developed. The villains seemed to be very cartoonish. The romance was immediate and seemed forced. Thus, it felt more like I reading a medieval romance than a novel based on an real person. Still, I recommend this for fans of Hild!

An intriguing work of medieval historical fiction imagining why the infamous nun uprising of The Holy Cross in 589 might have taken place. Sister Clotilda leads a group of nuns to sanctuary when the newly appointed (rather than elected, as was usual) abbess grows abusive with power, stealing from the coffers for her own gain and all but starving her fellow sisters. Exacerbating the sisters' problems are the increasing limitations placed on women by the Church. It's a truly fascinating read that taught me a good deal about an event in history I had never heard of before. It also provides what I would imagine is a far more likely sequence (and cause) of events than the ones that were presented by the men of their time who got to write down the history of what happened.


TW: sexual assault, religious sexism, and violence

At some point this year in another book, something just absolutely clicked in my mind about how fascinating nuns actually are! And I wanted to know more and know what led them to that life and what they thought while living in it and I was just so drawn into these women who I was raised to believe were just crotchety, strict old women. I knew there was so much more and I wanted it and like a gift from heaven, I discover this book. Wow wow wow. It was everything I wanted and reminded me of why I am so in love with historical fiction. Clotild is now one of my all time favorite characters and the fact that she is based off a real person. Just incredible. It’s amazing that even when things were harder and the odds stacked even higher against people, there were still those who fought. I am grateful for every single one of those women before me, regardless of how long ago they lived. I appreciate that this story is not completely lost to history.

Wow! I honestly cannot believe that this bases off on a true story. The Rebel Nun is a compelling tale of a group of nuns who rebel against the injustice of the church, and I enjoyed reading it.

To begin with, the story was a little hard to grasp over the first few pages as the author introduces many characters. But once I got the hang of it, I could not put it down. The author sets the pace gradually and helps us get into the characters and the situations, and I rooted for Clotild throughout her mission.

Clotild is a dynamic character and shines in the tale. The author writes the story compellingly, where you feel like you are with Clotild and the other nuns of the Holy Cross. She writes the characters wonderfully, where you immediately hate people like Lebover and Maroveus. I also enjoyed how she describes Clotild’s background and her relationship with Radegund and the other members. However, I was fascinated with her conversations with Alboin. Alboin is one of those mysterious characters who intrigued me from the first page. If the author ever writes a spinoff or a sequel to the tale, I would love to revolve around Alboin’s life.

Interestingly, the book’s tone became more severe and graphic towards the end and impacted me towards the climax. The author also shocked me in some scenes, like what happens to Marion in the beginning or Justina later. The story is gripping until the end, and the author glued me to the pages during the trial scenes. While I enjoyed reading the story throughout, the last few pages made me admire it profoundly.

Overall, “The Rebel Nun” is worth reading if you enjoy historical fiction with memorable characters.

Clotild is an illegitimate daughter of Frankish King Charibert. After her father’s death, she is sent to a monastery called Holy Cross in 6th century Poitiers. It’s believed to be the safest place for her. When the previous abbess dies, Clotild is believed to be the next abbess. But instead, bishop Maroveus appoints Lebover to be the next abbess and life under her rule sets out to be a difficult one when she cuts food rationing drastically.

Christianity is still a fairly new thing, and she has learnt about herbs and traditional gods and goddesses from her mother and grandmother. Around this time the church has started removing women from any positions they held in the church. Because women are seen as “unclean”. Clotild has accepted Christianity and her life in the cloister, but little by little she starts to question the churches decisions and how they treat women. Many of the women are at the monastery to avoid unwanted marriage, bloodthirsty relatives or prostitution rather than their devotion to religious life.

6th century France is certainly not a place that is often featured. It was great to read something from Merovingian time. I was a bit hesitant towards the book since it’s set in a monastery, but I didn’t mind it at all. It didn’t feel preachy or boring at all.

The bishops and kings weren’t interested in listening or believing what the nuns were saying. They just assumed Clotild was jealous of Lebover. So not much changed there… Just be more pious and obey men. No matter if you starve because apparently it brings you closer to heaven or something.

My one problem was the romance plot which I thought was unnecessary. But other than that, I really enjoyed the book.

Marj Charlier's The Rebel Nun is a swiftly moving, absorbing read. Based on a little-known historical event, when a Sixth-Century nun led her spiritual sisters to rebel against growing patriarchal control of the Christian church. Clotild, the central character, had hopes of being elected abbess of the female monastery of the Holy Cross. When the (male, of course) bishop awards the title to someone else, despite a tradition of the sisters electing their own abbess, Clotild grows increasingly direct in challenging the changes to her monastery and to the faith in general.

Clotild, at least as depicted by Charlier, isn't the Sixth-Century nun you might expect. It's not just that she rebels, not just that she leads her sisters on a multi-day trek to appeal to Clotild's royal relatives and church higher-ups, not just that she strikes a bargain with an angry warrior who has his own reasons for hating the bishop making life miserable at Holy Cross. She's also a polytheist—"wedded" to Christ, but still worshiping ancient goddesses and engaging in rituals to honor them. In other words, Clotild isn't just a thorn in the church's side, she's a heretic.

The Rebel Nun is one of those works of historical fiction that brings a present-day sensibility to the past. Sometimes that works; sometimes it doesn't. Here, it's mostly effective, though at moments I found myself wondering if her reasoning or language really reflected her times. I also appreciate the depiction of a sea-change in the Christian church as the faith became increasingly patriarchal. The faith has had so many different guises over the centuries, but the Sixth Century changed the faith for the next fifteen-hundred years to follow, and still dominates many current religious practices and assumptions.

Read this book if you're looking for an imperfect, but gutsy heroine, if you're interested in church history, or if you're interested in trying to perceive the world through the zeitgeist of other eras. You'll find Clotild makes for very good company.

I received a free electronic ARC of this title from the publisher for review purposes; the opinions are my own.

I received The Rebel Nun as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

In 6th century Gaul, times are changing: Christianity is centralizing and standardizing, and under this new regime, women religious are losing any semblance of equality and standing they had. And yet, the Monastery of the Holy Cross stands firm, sheltering noblewomen who have turned their lives over to God in lieu of unwanted marriages or vicious relatives. Clotild is one such woman, illegitimate daughter of a king and a pagan slave. Sent to the monastery, she finds a measure of peace and fulfillment alongside her sisters, despite the pagan influences in her own upbringing. That all changes with the death of the old order and the implementation of a harsh abbess, under whose watch the monastery devolves into a miserable existence. Clotild and some of her sisters decide to protest the unjust treatment in the increasingly misogynistic halls of power, but in doing so set into motion an irrevocable chain of events that will seal their fates forever.

This was an excellent read. I love early medieval history--it was such a vibrant time--and it's so underexplored in historical fiction. Clotild was an excellent heroine, one who was imperfect and torn but still noble in her goals. The era was so chock full of misogyny and brutality--it's terrible to read about but like all good history and historic fiction it makes you reconsider things from a different perspective. Highly recommended.

This book had me at the title. Having attended Catholic school I found the idea of nuns becoming rebellious absolutely hilarious. This book did not disappoint. It not only provides a glimpse into a forgotten incident, it also highlights the early Merovingian dynasty. Author Marj Charlier provides the reader with all the machinations behind why women entered the cloister, what life was like inside the cloister, and the outside influences that impacted the quality of life for those who embraced that life. I found that the struggles Clotild had were a reflection of the struggles many women had has they were forced to accept the decisions made for them by men. Was she simply resentful that she didn't get the ultimate prize? Possibly. Regardless, the book illustrates the lengths that the Church went to in order to solidify its power. A very enjoyable book that I devoured over the course of 2 days. A must read for all lovers of medieval Europe.

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: https://www.ManofLaBook.com

The Rebel Nun by Marj Charlier is a historical fiction story, centered on Clotild who led nuns in a rebellion against the patriarchy of the church. Ms. Charlier is a published author and journalist

Clotild is the bastard daughter of a king. During the sixth-century, at the age of 13, she enters a convent which is the only place she can be guaranteed safety from the king’s former wives.

During her time, Clotlid enjoyed the relative safety, comradery, and purpose of being a nun. When the abbess dies, Clotlid – as well as the other nuns – believe that she is the natural choice to run the famous Monastery of the Holy Cross.

The bishop of Poitiers, however, blocks Clotlid’s appointment so he can take control of the Monastery along with its holly relic, a splinter from the “True Cross”, while making the nuns’ lives difficult. Clotlid and several other nuns escape and start a dangerous journey to appeal to their royal relatives for help. The bishop refuses to back down and the nuns find themselves, for the first time, fighting armed men.

This book was very well put together. The narrative was tight, story was very interesting, characters were fleshed out, and the writing was fantastic.

Unlike many other works of fiction, or historical fiction, The Rebel Nun by Marj Charlier looks kindly upon medieval monasteries. Many girls and women didn’t have many choices, even, and sometimes especially, if they came from royalty. Nun, wife and mother, prostitute where usually the only options many women had. And sadly, in many places in the world this is still true.

The descriptions of the positive aspects of the nunnery, the peace of mind and protection it afforded to women really have a huge impact on this story. It explains why many of them were willing to risk life and limb for the institution.

Even though this novel takes place centuries ago, it is a very contemporary story. Clotild sees the few rights and privileges she has as a woman erodes in-front of her as the Catholic Church changes it’s dogma to disenfranchise women, and is powerless to do anything about it. Instead of sitting back, she takes matters into her own hands, hoping to make a change.

This book told a strong, dramatic story in a very skilled way. It was a sad, but inspiring novel, of the struggle of women to fight against a religious / societal system, changing to specifically to disenfranchise them.

I wish I had read the authors note and fact vs fiction before starting The Rebel Nun. I was drawn in by the title and the cover. Early on in the book I (incorrectly) assumed that this was a novel (and even fantasy/science fiction); since I obtained via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and was committed to finishing the book. With over a started dozen books, I was quickly drawn in and wanted to see how it would play out (finishing the book in two days).

After finishing, I’m astounded that the uprising (and the basis of this book) did happen. Of course details from the Middle Ages are hard to come by, hence the classifying as historical fiction. I really don't want to give away the plot, but the title of the book really summarizes appropriately.

Really interesting. I’m glad that the author wrote this book about such a strong and determined woman / group of women.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher (Blackstone Publishing) and the author/Marj Charlier for the opportunity to review this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, Marj Charlier, and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this book!

Gregory of Tours discusses in book 10 of his History of the Franks about the daughter of a king, named Clotid who leads a rebellion at a nunnery. The Rebel Nun by Marj Charlier takes Gregory of Tours’ account and gives us historical fiction from Clotid’s point-of-view. Clotid wants to be abbess of her monastery. She is devoted to her monastery but was raised in a completely different life. She was raised by a healer and Pagan rituals and that part of her did not disappear once she entered the life of a nun. When her aspirations to be an abbess are destroyed and the women and bishop who took that away are abusing their priveledges. The bishop and the abbess start withholding food, wood, and blankets. Also, many items begin to go missing…then begin the whispers. They happen in secret, but as the situation gets more extreme the more Clotid becomes aware that it is time for change.

I am here for this book! It is pretty well-known that Gregory of Tours loved to exaggerate and show himself in spectacular light. He wasn’t the only one, the Church loved controlling the narrative. So seeing this part of history from a woman’s point-of-view is everything. The monastery wasn’t for women who wanted to spend their life praying to God. It was for the women looking for a safe place to escape an unwanted marriage, those in domestic abuse situations, homeless women, those trying to avoid prostitution, and many more scenarios. Women didn’t have many options. They either became prostitutes, got married, or became a nun. I really appreciate that the author shows several examples of the limitations forced upon women. You see what happens when the Church gets REAL threatened by women in the 1400s…that is when you see the rise of Witch Hunts. However, this takes place in the 6th century but that doesn’t mean that misogyny isn’t a thing. Women have always been rising up, but their stories are written by men.

While the first half of the story was pretty slow and the writing a little choppy, I was still hooked from beginning to end. It is the perfect book to read for Women’s History Month and just released on March 2nd, so be sure to pick it up! I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I struggled a bit with this one, especially at the beginning. Once things got going (read: unbearable for Clotild, our narrator) the story picked up and I began to feel swept along with it, but until then I plodded miserably along for 100 slow, grim pages.

I am just not sure who the intended audience for this book is. It feels quite niche - feminists with a taste for historical fiction centered around organized religion and its pratfalls, perhaps? (There must be more of us than I thought!) While I love a historical fiction novel about a strong female character, the relentless misery portrayed in the book and the almost-cartoonish villainy of the church made for an unsatisfying read at times. Charlier hewed close to the actual events the book is based on, which I appreciate (few flights of fancy here) but at times I did wish for some more action to alleviate the unhappiness Clotild and her fellow sisters experienced on a daily basis.

And, dear reader, it was grim. The first 100 pages of the book are spent reminiscing about how fun and light things were at the monastery under Radegund (although we are never shown this joy, only told of it) and detailing how miserable they were under Lebover, the new abbess installed by the villainous bishop. It took me a long time to get through this (relatively brief, 260-page) novel because I could only read one or two short chapters at a time initially as the story was so bleak. Charlier did a great job portraying how miserable Clotild was, I suppose, because I was ready to riot as well.

Once things got going, I enjoyed the story a great deal more. I felt for Clotild and her sisters, and I wanted their quest to succeed, even though I knew it wouldn't - history, as well as some rather heavy-handed foreshadowing, provided spoilers. Still, I rooted for them as they traveled, appealed, and ultimately fought for their freedom and right to exist in peace and comfort. This
a time period that is rarely written about in historical fiction, and especially from the perspective of a nun, and for that I found it fascinating.

Charlier had clearly done her research, and is very respectful of the time period. It shows. I particularly appreciated the lengthy author's note where she takes care to distinguish fact from fiction and describe the effort that went into the history. However, reading the book did feel a bit like Charlier had a personal agenda - it was hard to distinguish whether the feelings of animosity for the church genuinely came from Clotild or if Charlier allowed her opinions to inform Clotild's story.

Ultimately, I do recommend giving this one a read. If anything, it will shed some light on a time period not often portrayed in historical literature. Just don't expect a lighthearted romp, and prepare for some heavy religious overtones.

Recommended for fans of Geraldine Brooks and Karen Cushman.

“The Rebel Nun” is the story of a king’s daughter who finds herself in a monastery after her father’s death, for protection from rivals. After almost two decades cloistered with her sisters, she finds herself at the center of a rebellion against a corrupt system that consistently devalues their experiences and minimizes their religious experiences.

There’s a large cast of characters for such a short narrative, and we only receive the scantiest of characterization for them. The narrative hesitates a few times before rushing forward at a breakneck speed, and I would have appreciated a dedication to setting the scene more. Overall, the story would have benefited from another 50-100 pages of world building and character development. Even so, the story was interesting and unique.

Almost before I started reading “The Rebel Nun,” I was already anticipating the Author’s Note at the end of the book. I was especially pleased to discover such a robustly researched and carefully crafted explanation of the true story behind Clothild’s rebellion and life. Fact and fiction were meticulously separated, and as always, I found myself marveling at how incredible history is when compared to our fantasies.

Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing for an ARC! I received a free copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Quick synopsis: A band of nuns, led by our protagonist Clotild, rebel when their happy cloistered lives are turned upside down after the death of their beloved abbess. Her replacement is corrupt and in cahoots with a cartoonishly villainous bishop.

The good news is, it was nice to read a book about a period in time that I rarely read about- so I learned many things about that era as well as about life as a nun, and the facets of religious life back then in general. So for that, I am glad I read the book. My favorite sections involved Clotild's mother and grandmother, and their paganism.

However- there were things that just didn't work for me:
1. The writing, the dialogue- it felt like the further in the book I got, the more awkward it was. A lot of repetitiveness- so many chapters ended with some variation of, "Oh how I wish I knew how much worse it would get!" and if I had to hear about Basina and her indecisiveness one more time......
2, The strange romantic plot line.
3. The protagonist- I just didn't find anything about her that made me root for her or her cause. For that matter, the other minor characters were pretty flat as well. It just made it hard for me to get behind the nuns' cause, especially when taking into account the misery they encountered when they left the monastery. How could they stick to their mission of trying to win back their cushy lovey cloistered lives when there was so much death and corruption and hunger all around them? It just seemed self indulgent. Again, this is based on a true story- so this storyline is not solely the creation of the author. There was some definite cognitive dissonance in my brain whenever I remembered that this book was based on history, as I found most of it just so unbelievable. It made the book hard for me to finish because I just wasn't invested in whether or not the nuns got their happy ending- because whether or not they did (no spoilers here)- it all seemed a little silly.

Unfortunately, this book and I just did not click.

The novel follows the experiences of a medieval nun in a monastery in today's France. The nun from the title is Clotild, a bastard daughter of a king who makes startling discoveries abou the nature of power and the dark behin-the-scenes machinations in the Catholic Church. The group of nuns lead a rebeliion against the powers in their area. The story is based on true historical events.
The writing style is a bit simplistic at times. There are many info dumps at the beginning. The villains are very very obvious. barely 2Dimensional and this sort of ruined it for me. It felt at times that the author was preaching to the coverted at times. I think that we are all well aware of the position of women in the past and the Machiavellian behaviour of Church leaders, we don't really need it spelled out for us like it was here. Even the main character is a bit of a charicature at times. She is strong and aware, but she is also self-punishing at times to a degree that just decreases the reading enjoyment.

{3.5 stars}

"'Perhaps you should think less and pray more.' I shook my head and dropped back down on the bench. Was even this champion of the Holy Cross now adopting the church's new attitude toward women? 'What would you say if I suggested you think less and pray more.' I asked. 'But I'm a m-... poet.' He was about to say 'man' but caught himself just in time."

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"You will find few clergy these days who would support this monastery's continued independence. Especially since the councils have declared your sex and its weaknesses make you incapable of judgment in these matters."

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The Rebel Nun is the story of women in the 6th century. These women may be in a monastery but we learn quite quickly that many of these women did not willingly join the order because they were devoted to the Lord but due to their circumstances. Living as a nun was often a refuge from the life that may have been thrust upon them or that they may have had to result to due to poverty or lack of options. In the case of our main character Clotild, she was the bastard daughter of a king and simply put, a threat to his legitimate children. So she joined an order where her aunt was the abbess, when her aunt dies, she expects to be elected in her place. When she surprisingly is not, she is hurt and jealous. Quickly the order begins to run in a way that focuses on suffering inordinately 'for Jesus' but the truth may be more sinister. As she begins to discover the truth about the abbess and the religious leaders in charge of the order, she realizes that it is simply about power and control. She begins to try to rally her fellow sisters and use her connections to set things to right and the story follows their suffering and their journey to re-set the monastery to its proper place.

The pace of the story is slow but thorough and you really see just how little women's thoughts and opinions were valued. As a Catholic, I struggled with the point of view the church had during this period with a focus on suffering and fasting of those at the bottom while the top revel in riches (not sure that that much has actually changed there... but I digress...). I was also surprised at how many of the women still believed in their pagan gods and just thought of the Christian god "another one." You'd have thought women in a monastery would be there to be so devoted to the Lord but that seemed to be quite the afterthought. I also found it quite frustrating how little the women supported each other and how often they jumped to jealousy and accusation of one another.

This was a well written piece of historical fiction about a time period I wasn't familiar with before.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this novel. All opinions above are my own.

4 stars

History has been mostly written by men. It's time for women to take it back.

Based on an little-known event in which a group of nuns rebelled against church leaders in 6th century France, The Rebel Nun does more than just uncover some forgotten history. It beautifully and tragically illuminates the ways in which women in the medieval period struggled to gain some form of independence in the face of political, social, and religious oppression, a battle that still lingers in our society today.

Marj Charlier does an incredible job of bringing the intricacies of the medieval world to life (the inclusion in the author's note of what parts of the book were fact and fiction was a delightful treat). Despite the fact that such horrible things were happening in this book, I found myself not wanting to put it down. Both captivating and thought-provoking, this book is a sublime example that there are so many more topics that historical fiction can explore other than WWII.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review!

3.5 stars

Well-written historical fiction based on true events; a survival story of some brave, not oft remembered women who stood up for themselves in the face of humiliation, mistreatment, misogyny, danger, & intimidation.

[What I liked:]

•The art is beautiful (the front page, at the start of chapters, the family tree sketch, etc.), and it fits with the botanical theme of the story.

•Easy to read prose, and at times it’s even lovely.

•It’s nice to have a novel set in the early Middle Ages (6th C. CE) in Europe, especially one featuring women characters. I do like later medieval era settings, but there are many more of those.

•There is a strong sense of place & time depicted, especially of the natural world (nature is very important to the MC’s identity & self awakening).

•The shift towards pushing women out of leadership in the Roman Catholic Church is an interesting subject to me, and while few details are known of how/why it happened it’s cool to read about it in a novel from the perspective of some of the women who were caught up in the difficulties of that transition.

•I also enjoyed exploring the other complexities of how religion & culture influenced each other that this book highlights: the tension between coexisting Christian & pagan beliefs, the varying shades of gray of syncretism, the competition between different sects of Christianity (specifically Arianism vs. Roman Catholicism), and the power struggles between the church leaders & the kings.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•There is a bit too much background summary at the beginning of the book, and at certain other points, for my taste. It would feel smoother if these details were blended into the narrative more subtly instead of resorting to info dumping.

•The villains are a bit one-dimensional, & I had a hard time fully grasping the reasons for how mean & cruel they are. Maroveus is envious, okay...but he still has so much more power than the women at Holy Cross; why does he feel such a need to crush them completely? Lebover’s motives are a bit more nuanced & understandable, but I really don’t understand why Justina was so mean; what did she stand to gain by creating enemies of the sisters? It was never explained.

•Clotild does a whole lot of blaming herself for everything. I think there’s a fine line between acknowledging one’s flaws & failures, and becoming a martyr to the cause of everyone’s misery. Sometimes her attitude came off a bit patronizing, since she thinks it’s her job to save everyone from everything. By the middle of the book I was tired of her self-pitying, self-flagellating inner monologue.

•I’m glad Clotild got her happy ending, but it was a bit rushed in the epilogue. The explanation of how she rebuilt her life was clear as a sequence of events, but not *what* her purpose and mission were that led her there. Since all throughout the book she’d been hinting at how she found this amazing life purpose & destiny, I’d have liked to see more of what that was to her besides gardening, & more of what that personally meant to her!

•A minor quibble, but there are inconsistencies with measurement terminology. Distance is described in miles, leagues, & kilometers. Leagues & miles were terms that existed in the 6th C, but kilometer is a modern (late 18th C & later) measure of distance, definitely an anachronism the editors should have caught.

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]