The Society is very pleased to announce publication, today, of the 27th title in its ‘New Historical Perspectives’ book series: Prostitution, Repentance and Social Welfare in Renaissance Florence. The Monastery of Sant’Elisabette delle Convertite, by Gillian Jack.
As the longest enduring monastery for repentant prostitutes, Sant’Elisabetta is an integral part of the history of nuns and of prostitution in the medieval and early modern periods, and had an important place in municipal responses to social welfare and civic morality. From the fourteenth century, prostitutes in Florence were encouraged to leave their profession and spend their lives in repentance at the monastery of Sant’Elisabetta delle Convertite. Many did over its 500 years, and the monastery was soon one of the most populous in Florence.
Gillian’s is the first book-length study to put Sant’Elisabetta into its full historical context. It establishes the place of this often-overlooked nunnery in the wider world of medieval penitential piety, renaissance charity and early modern social welfare, Drawing on diverse archival sources, the book’s long chronological scope offers valuable insights into the broader histories of the relationship between the Florentine state and monastic institutions, public policy, welfare and women in the long Renaissance.
To accompany publication, Gillian also writes about the monastery of Sant’Elisabette delle Convertite for the Society’s blog.
As with all 27 titles in the New Historical Perspectives series, Prostitution, Repentance and Social Welfare in Renaissance Florence. The Monastery of Sant’Elisabette delle Convertite, is published as a free Open Access download and in paperback print by University of London Press.
Recent titles in the series also include: Organised Militarism in Interwar Britain. The Navy League and the Air League of the British Empire, by Rowan Thompson; Forging Fraternity in Late Medieval Society. The Palmers’ Guild of Ludlow, by Rachael Harkes and Gareth Roddy’s Atlantic Isles: Travel Identity in the British and Irish West, 1880-1940.
About New Historical Perspectives
‘New Historical Perspectives’ is a collaborative publishing project of the Royal Historical Society, University of London Press and the Institute of Historical Research, with further support from the Economic History Society. Previous generous support for the series was also provided by the Past & Present Society.
The series publishes new work by early career historians within 10 years of completing their PhD, from a UK or Irish university, in the form of monographs and edited collections.
Founded by the historians Simon Newman and Penny Summerfield in the mid 2010s, the Series is now co-edited by Elizabeth Hurren (University of Leicester) and Sarah Longair (University of Lincoln), assisted by an editorial board.
All authors contracted to the series receive mentoring from members of the NHP editorial board. In addition, they receive a workshop, with specialist readers and co-editors, to review and discuss a near complete manuscript before a final draft is submitted to the publisher.
All titles in the series are published Open Access, as pdf downloads and in a Manifold Reader editions, with no charge to the author, to ensure the widest possible dissemination of new historical research. As of early 2026, titles in the NHP series have been downloaded on more than 200,000 occasions.
The Series Editors and Editorial Board welcome proposals for new NHP titles via the NHP book proposal form. Completed proposal forms should be submitted to the University of London Press publisher, Dr Emma Gallon: [email protected].
HEADER IMAGE: The penitent Mary Magdalene, copy after Titian, 1550 – 1750.