The Nun - Denis Diderot

The blurb on this 18th century classic promises "madness, the paralysing effect of a powerful saintly personality, sadistic cruelty and febrile sexuality". How could I resist?

Actually, it doesn't quite read as excitingly as that would suggest but it's good stuff nevertheless. Diderot's target is the suffocating institution of the convent, as experienced by an impossibly naive young novice who falls victim to her fellow nuns. The bit where she is seduced by her Mother Superior is pretty entertaining and the ending is odd but works well.