Beautiful, wealthy, and flirtatious, she was known as the “belle of Avila.” The woman who would become one of the world’s most beloved saints entered a convent to avoid a dangerous scandal and discovered an unparalleled spiritual fervor—one so powerful it was condemned as sinful by some. The daughter of a rich Jewish merchant who converted to Catholicism during the religious persecutions of the late 15th century, Teresa became a reformer, visionary, and founder of convents whose revolutionary ideas both provoked the Inquisition and inspired millions. Masterfully blending fact with fiction, Bárbara Mujica narrates Teresa’s story in vivid detail. Painstakingly researched and beautifully rendered, Mujica’s tale conjures a brilliant picture of sisterhood, faith, terror, and the miracle of salvation.  

What critics are saying about Sister Teresa:

“This engaging novel depicts Teresa of Ávila as an extraordinary woman whose visions, church reform ideas and writing may well have been inspired by God. Mujica presents Teresa as a very human saint-in-the-making: by turns coquettish, self-loathing, desperately ill, politically masterful, blisteringly witty and, above all, God-obsessed. Though the events of Teresa's life, particularly her conversion and, later, her founding of the barefoot order of Carmelite nuns, are interesting, Mujica's fictional narrator, Sister Angelica, steals the show. Angelica's down-to-earth narration is a good choice for the story of an overwrought saint, and her matter-of-fact description of the staggering realities of life in 16th-century Spain give the novel an earthy appeal. Despite the many ugly historical events, such as the Spanish Inquisition, that figure into the story, it is surprisingly light and entertaining.” –Publishers Weekly

“…richly entertaining…  The real brilliance of [the narrator] Angélica is that she is the perfect complement to her famous friend. God tells Teresa to found convents. He tells Angélica to have a second helping of mutton stew. While Teresa engages in ecstatic communion with Jesus, Angélica—the daughter of a seamstress—wonders how angels' wings fit through their robes.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)
 
 “This brilliant fictional biography of Saint Teresa of Avila breathes new life into a sacred subject.” –Booklist

“Angelica’s comfortable, honest voice makes it easy to relate to this intimate novel’s central themes: a siblinglike love-hate relationship, forbidden sexual attraction, the struggle to find and keep faith, and the miracle of salvation.”
 --The Washingtonian