Mirella Patzer - Author

Locked behind the iron gates of a 16th-century Italian convent, a young noblewoman was preparing to shatter every holy vow she had ever sworn.

Virginia Maria de Leyva was just a child of thirteen when her father traded her freedom for the cold stone of Santa Margherita. By fifteen, she was bound for life—shackled to the altar not by faith, but by a father’s command.

But the convent’s walls weren’t high enough to keep out Gian Paolo Osio. Under the cover of darkness, he scaled the ramparts, igniting a forbidden affair that would send shockwaves through Renaissance Italy. What began as a secret romance spiraled into a whirlwind of passion, betrayal, and cold-blooded murder.

When the Cardinal’s inquisitors finally breached the sanctuary, Virginia found herself caught between two deaths. She faced an agonizing choice:
• Confess the truth and face the horror of immurement—being walled up alive.
• Blame witchcraft for the carnal desires she had claimed for herself.

This is the pulse-pounding true story that inspired Manzoni’s The Betrothed—the dark, blood-stained legacy of the Nun of Monza.

LADY OF MONZA is on sale now for .99 cents for the ebook.

A biographical historical fiction for readers who love Philippa Gregory, Hilary Mantel, and Sarah Dunant.

One forbidden whisper. A chain of murders.

I'm excited to announce Lady of Monza is now launched. To celebrate the release, the ebook version is available for .99 cents until the end of April.