Honestly, I have enjoyed this book. There are a million details that I am trying to avoid getting too tangled up in, but I like reading about the scandal and the "oh-dear-what-will-happen-next" sort of style. I routinely find myself feeling bad for Sister Margaret and her many apparent troubles, because no one wants to be loathed like that "by pretty much everyone." Harline really seems to have done his research here with all those sources he found remaining from the convent of Bethlehem (I really want to go to the Netherlands, now, too!).
However, I have just one problem with the Burdens, and I wonder if anyone else felt the same way: I feel as though this is sort of like Cecilia Penifader, and that this huge and incredibly complicated story is being blown way out of proportion. I do not deny that it all happened, obviously (due to the treasure trove of letters Harline tells us about), but I feel like this entire thing is being dramatized and that we are creating this in our minds as we imagine it would have happened. I'm not saying that it didn't happen, but I feel like gleaning a story of this capacity seems to be... well, really difficult. I remember reading Cecilia Penifader and wondering how such a detailed account could have been written about her life, even given the facts we had about her. I don't know, maybe I am just rambling. Did anyone else find this story and the apparent scandal that went on within the 17th-century convents believable?
