Lady of Monza

Renaissance Italy in the 16th century. 

Behind the iron gates of the Convent of Santa Margherita, Virginia Maria de Leyva—daughter of Spanish nobility, cloistered against her will—is not praying.

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When Gian Paolo Osio scales the convent wall in darkness, their forbidden affair ignites a chain of sins that will scandalize Renaissance Italy: passion, betrayal, murder. As ecclesiastical corruption festers and bodies disappear into unmarked graves, Virginia becomes both conspirator and victim in a web of deception that threatens to destroy everyone she has ever trusted.

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But when the Cardinal's inquisitors arrive, Virginia must decide: confess the truth and face immurement, or blame sorcery and witchcraft for desires she chose freely.​

Based on the true 17th-century scandal that inspired Manzoni's The Betrothed, this biographical historical fiction unveils the untold story of the Nun of Monza—a woman who defied her vows, murdered to protect her secrets, and paid the ultimate price for choosing love over salvation.​