"In demonstrating that Franciscan women were from the beginning courted by Franciscan brothers and the papacy as devout contemplatives, Mueller redefines early Franciscan history by showing that women were essential partners with Franciscan friars." - J. M. B. Porter, Choice "This is a very impressive work. Mueller sets out to pursue the long series of negotiations that went into designing a Franciscan life for women. She begins with Clare and Agnes, who were inspired by the model provided by St. Francis, or at least the model as they saw it. When they attempted to gain the papal permission to pursue that model, they found that the popes whose permission they required saw the life proper to a female religious quite differently. Mueller does a good job of explaining how the models differed and why. She places the ongoing struggle between the two women and the popes in a credible ecclesiastical context." - David Burr, author of The Spiritual Franciscans"