Inspired by the real testimonies of nuns and exorcists, preserved in the archives of the Inquisition of Modena, The Cloister Witch of Carpi brings to life one of the most extraordinary forgotten episodes in Italian women’s history.

Carpi, Italy. 1630s.

Three convent inhabitants are dead. Eleven more are convulsing, screaming and speaking in foreign tongues.

The exorcists have been called to the Convent of Santa Chiara. Their conclusion: Demons have entered the convent and there is only one explanation. A witch is living among the nuns.

Eleonora d'Este, the convent's powerful princess-abbess, has spent her life believing that love is a woman's greatest danger. Ginevra Martinelli believes the opposite.

Bound together by a lifetime of friendship, rivalry and secrets, the two women find themselves on opposite sides of a terrifying investigation. Because when fear takes hold, anyone can become a suspect.

As the accusations multiply, the Inquisition is summoned.

Then old betrayals resurface. Forbidden desires refuse to remain buried. And the search for the witch threatens to expose something far more sinister than demons.

A haunting novel of love and power, and the resilience of women trapped within the patriarchal world of seventeenth-century Italy.