Women's life writing in general has too often been ignored, dismissed, or relegated to a separate category in those few studies of the genre that include it. The present work addresses these issues and offers a countervailing argument that focuses on the contributions of women writers to the study of autobiography in Spanish during the early modern period. There are, indeed, examples of autobiographical writing by women in Spain and its New World empire, evident as early as the fourteenth-century Memorias penned by DoA+/-a Leonor LA(3)pez de CordA(3)ba and continuing through the seventeenth-century Cartas of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. What sets these accounts apart, the author shows, are the variety of forms adopted by each woman to tell her life and the circumstances in which she adapts her narrative to satisfy the presence of male critics-whether ecclesiastic or political, actual or imagined-who would dismiss or even alter her life story. Analyzing how each of these women viewed her life and, conversely, how their contemporaries-both male and female-received and sometimes edited her account, Howe reveals the tension in the texts between telling a 'life' and telling a 'lie'.

Considering the presence and influence of educated women of letters in Spain and New Spain, this study looks at the life and work of early modern women who advocated by word or example for the education of women. The subjects of the book include not only such familiar figures as Sor Juana and Santa Teresa de JesAs, but also of less well known women of their time. The author uses primary documents, published works, artwork, and critical sources drawn from history, literature, theatre, philosophy, women's studies, education and science. Her analysis juxtaposes theories espoused by men and women of the period concerning the aptitude and appropriateness of educating women with the actual practices to be found in convents, schools, court, theaters and homes. What emerges is a fuller picture of women's learning in the early modern period.

Women's life writing in general has too often been ignored, dismissed, or relegated to a separate category in those few studies of the genre that include it. The present work addresses these issues and offers a countervailing argument that focuses on the contributions of women writers to the study of autobiography in Spanish during the early modern period. There are, indeed, examples of autobiographical writing by women in Spain and its New World empire, evident as early as the fourteenth-century Memorias penned by DoA+/-a Leonor LA(3)pez de CordA(3)ba and continuing through the seventeenth-century Cartas of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. What sets these accounts apart, the author shows, are the variety of forms adopted by each woman to tell her life and the circumstances in which she adapts her narrative to satisfy the presence of male critics-whether ecclesiastic or political, actual or imagined-who would dismiss or even alter her life story. Analyzing how each of these women viewed her life and, conversely, how their contemporaries-both male and female-received and sometimes edited her account, Howe reveals the tension in the texts between telling a 'life' and telling a 'lie'.

Considering the presence and influence of educated women of letters in Spain and New Spain, this study looks at the life and work of early modern women who advocated by word or example for the education of women. The subjects of the book include not only such familiar figures as Sor Juana and Santa Teresa de JesAs, but also of less well known women of their time. The author uses primary documents, published works, artwork, and critical sources drawn from history, literature, theatre, philosophy, women's studies, education and science. Her analysis juxtaposes theories espoused by men and women of the period concerning the aptitude and appropriateness of educating women with the actual practices to be found in convents, schools, court, theaters and homes. What emerges is a fuller picture of women's learning in the early modern period.

Madre Ana's account of her life gives insight into the nature of female monasticism at the turn of the seventeenth century. In two relaciones of her life, Madre Ana de San Agustin, a member of the Discalced Carmelite reform under Santa Teresa, reveals a rich interior life of visions, locutions, and visits to heaven and hell. Guiding her at manyjunctures of her spiritual journey is the figure of Santa Teresa, both before and after the saint's death in 1582. Although Madre Ana does not refer to any books save the Divine Office, the details she provides suggest her familiarity with numerous devotional and mystical texts by men and women available at the time. Her accounts share many of the characteristics of these earlier works. Equally interesting are the connections she draws between her visions and the outside world, especially the struggle over the Carmelite reform. En las dos 'relaciones' de su vida, la Madre Ana de San Agustin, Carmelita descalza de la Reforma teresiana, revela una rica vida interior de visiones, locuciones, y visitas al cielo y al infierno. Guiandola en su viaje espiritual esta la figura de Santa Teresa, antes y despues de la muerte de esta en 1582. Aunque Madre Ana no cita ninguna obra salvo el Oficio Divino, los detalles empleados en sus narrativas sugieren un conocimiento de varios textos de la literatura mistica y devota escritos por hombres y mujeres que fueron publicados y circulados durante la epoca. Las 'relaciones' de Madre Ana reflejan algunas de las caracteristicas de estas obras anteriores. A la vez las conexiones que ella hace entre sus visiones y el mundo cotidiano, especialmente en cuanto al conflicto de la Reforma Descalza, son igualmente interesantes. ELIZABETH HOWE is Professor of Spanish at Tufts University, Massachusetts.