Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World

Named a New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 1996

One of the earliest known autobiographies by a woman, this is the extraordinary tale of Catalina de Erauso, who in 1599 escaped from a Basque convent dressed as a man and went on to live one of the most wildly fantastic lives of any woman in history. A soldier in the Spanish army, she traveled to Peru and Chile, became a gambler, and even mistakenly killed her own brother in a duel. During her lifetime she emerged as the adored folkloric hero of the Spanish-speaking world. This delightful translation of Catalina's own work introduces a new audience to her audacious escapades.

Author: Catalina De Erauso
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 06/30/1997
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.35lbs
Size: 8.04h x 5.38w x 0.43d
ISBN13: 9780807070734
ISBN10: 0807070734
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Women
- Biography & Autobiography | Historical
- Social Science | LGBTQ+ Studies | Gay Studies

About the Author
Catalina de Erauso was born in Spain in either 1585 or 1592, according to disputed records, and died in 1650. Raised and educated in a convent, de Erauso refused to conform to the strict nature of the environment and, disguising herself in men's clothing, escaped in 1600. As a fugitive, she then traveled to various countries and joined the Chilean military, climbing the ranks. Her story is told in Lieutenant Nun: Memoirs of a Basque Transvestite, which was originally wrote or dictated, and eventually published, in Paris in 1829.