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A prequel to The School of Whoredom, The Secret Life of Nuns is a witty and salacious dialogue between Nana, and her confidante Antonia. Nanna is in a quandary as to what to advise her daughter, Pippa, as she chooses her path in life. Should she become a nun, a whore, or a wife? In pondering this, Nanna begins to tell of her own experiences as a nun, relating the adventures that ensued as she was accepted and initiated into convent life. In subverting the popular literary form of the dialogue, Aretino uses bawdy humor and colorful narrative to expose the human foibles and vice that he saw as inherent in religious life. The result is a vivid piece of prose that has endured for centuries. Italian satirist and poet Pietro Aretino was one of the most versatile writers of the 16th century; the author of plays, poetry, and letters, he is now principally remembered as the originator of European pornography.