rachelmanija | A Nun in the Closet, by Dorothy Gilman

A standalone novel by the author of the charming Mrs. Pollifax series, about a retired grandma who becomes a spy, which seems to be taking my f-list by storm.

When the small and impoverished Abbey of St. Tabitha gets a surprise bequest of a house, two of the cloistered nuns, the enthusiastic Sister John and the herb-wise Sister Hyacinthe, are sent to inspect it – a process which involves borrowing a delicatessen delivery van and teaching Sister Hyacinthe to drive (terrifyingly).

Upon arrival, they discover a wounded man in a closet, a suitcase full of money down the well, a kitchen empty except for fifty jars of sugar, and a local population of hippies, political agitators, migrant workers, corrupt sheriffs, and a contingent of dangerous men intent on getting back into the house they were clearly using for something.

This is an absolutely delightful book, and one with depth underneath its breezy surface. It’s set in the early 70s, but if you look past some of the language it feels more like a period snapshot than dated, and the themes are just as relevant now as they were when it was written. While the nuns’ innocence is often very funny, their philosophy and knowledge set is serious and taken seriously, as is that of the hippies. There’s hilarious hijinks, a cast of distinct and mostly very likable characters, clashes of world views and also surprising commonalities in world views, a lot of herb lore, and a tiny but real community that springs up in and around the house. And all this is contained in a quite short novel that one could easily read in one sitting, and is compelling enough that you probably will.

A Nun in the Closet

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I'm going to end up with a ton of books coming in the post at this rate! This sounds utterly delightful, thank you for the rec :-)

The other non-series novel I read of hers, The Tightrope Walker, was also excellent.

Incident at Badyama is my favorite of the standalones, but it takes place in post-war Burma and might feel too fraught at the moment. Thale's Folly is very domestic and lovely, in a quiet way. And I recently read her 1978 memoir A New Kind of Country, about moving to a village in Nova Scotia, and it was startlingly interesting. I also loved Caravan, but it's over a decade since I read it and I don't know how it will hold up to modern sensibilities. Knowing Gilman, probably rather well.

Thank you! I actually now want to read all of those.

This is an absolutely delightful book, and one with depth underneath its breezy surface.

I am so glad you are enjoying these, and especially glad to hear that this one (because I had remembered it fondly) holds up!