Portuguese Love Letters

Seduction, passion, betrayal. Words that describe the true life experience of Mariana Alcoforado, a 17th century Portuguese nun, and her lover, an officer in the French army.

War rages in Portugal as the people fight to claim their independence from Spain. The local convent, once secluded, has opened its doors to the outside world. Daughters of wealthy men find refuge, and soldiers find themselves nursed by nuns. When the French army, led by Captain Noel Bouton de Chamilly enters Beja, Mariana Alcoforado's life is changed forever.

Like any young woman discovering the intoxicating power of love for the first time, Mariana's sexuality is awoken by the dashing captain. Sneaking into the convent at night, Chamilly (as his friends call him) seduces Mariana in her cell and promises eternal love.

In the cell next to hers, Mariana's friend, Theresa, enjoys visits from Francisco, her lover. Theresa, not yet a nun, feels no shame, and Mariana comes to understand Theresa's longings as she too discovers her own sexuality.

Word spreads of Mariana's affair with the Captain and he is sent back to France. Theresa escapes the convent looking for marriage, only to find herself raped and exploited. Returning to the safety of the nuns she finds Mariana packing to leave and join Chamilly in Paris. Mariana's journey to Paris, to reunite with her true love, is fraught with danger and powerful lessons.

Mariana's love letters were circulated during her lifetime throughout France and Portugal and influenced so many, that the term "Portugal" became synonymous with "passionate." Years later they even inspired Elizabeth Barrett Browning to write "Sonnets from the Portuguese."

"Portuguese Love Letters" was selected as a 2003 Chesterfield Writer's Film Project Semifinalist — sponsored by Paramount Pictures. It also placed in the top 10% in the Nicholl Academy Fellowships. It has been optioned twice.