RoseAnna Mueller, The Mystic Nuns of Colonial Colombia: Voices and Visions

Abstract

RoseAnna Mueller’s The Mystic Nuns of Colonial Colombia: Voices and Visions (2025) delves into the religious experiences of five cloistered nuns living in the Viceroyalty of New Granada (present-day Colombia) during the 17th and 18th centuries. Through a meticulous study of these nuns' lives within their historical context, the book analyzes the essential role of religious women in colonial New Granada, highlighting their literary and artistic contributions, as well as their impact in other spheres such as the economy and education. Mueller also reveals how convents constituted a political and economic power with significant influence on daily life in colonial Spanish America, thus contrasting with the simplified image of these religious sites as places disconnected from the rest of society.