Lieutenant nun

the long version

"English version of Historia de la monja alférez (1988), the 'autobiographical' account of a Basque woman who fled convent life in Spain; made her way to the Indies disguised as a page boy; and spent 22 years as a soldier in the colonies, mostly in Chile and the Perus, in early 17th century. Traditionally rejected as a work of fiction, Catalina de Erauso's story has been verified - to the extent that verification is possible - as well as authenticated by recent scholarship. [MTH]"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.