This is a fictional account of the life of the medieval nun and mystic, Hildegard von Bingen. It is based on actual documents on Hildegard's life. The story begins when the child Hildegard is offered to the church as a tithe. She is cloistered in a small room with a devout young woman from a wealthy family as her servant. Hildegard has visions which lead her to fame as a sibyl of the church and becomes the teacher of other young women. Eventually she rebels against the greedy abbot of the monastery and finds a way to establish her own convent. The author acknowledges that some of the characterizations are her own creations or composites of actual people from Hildegard's life. The book is well written and the story is interesting. I enjoyed it a lot.
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