Sisters by Michael Polowetzky 70’s or 80’s. Sisters is a prequel to Michael’s earlier book, Messenger. Again we are in the world of devout and intelligent women who are eager to devote their lives to service to God and humankind. The story unfolds mainly in a convent in the Pyrenees. The character at the center of the story is Sister Jeanne Naverro, who grows up in the isolated mountain world that spans French and Spanish culture. So brilliant that her baccalaureate score (after some twists and turns) makes national news, she has a possible future as a distinguished scholar.
A future with marriage and the family has no appeal to her so she enters the convent, where she makes a name for herself as the author first of works on nineteenth century French poets and then on historic works concerning the life of women in various historic periods. Other principal characters are Mother Marie and her life-long friend Sister Françoise, who together run the convent, and though young themselves, guide the gifted teen and encourage her accomplishments. Her publications in the periodical Faith Today put the convent on the map. Eventually, the cloistered life becomes too small for Sister Jeanne, whose vision is global.
Mirroring the friendship of Mother Marie and Sister Françoise, is that of another pair of aspiring girls, the duchess Mary Preston and Leopoldine Fauré, daughter of a plumber. Sister Jeanne stands between these two generations as protegée on one hand and inspiration on the other.
Michael’s familiarity with the various landscapes of France -- from the craggy mountains to the farms of the plains, to the richness of Paris’s architectural record -- anchors the work in space. Jeanne is a character of great empathy. She bears the burden of one who feels that relieving suffering in the world is her responsibility.
