Cloistered Carmel by Joachim Smet, O. Carm.

The story of what many consider to be the heart of the Carmelite Order: the enclosed nuns. This book chronicles the origins and development of this particular expression of the Order's contemplative charism: its subsequent history through its golden era in the 17th century, its persecution by enlightened monarchs and liberal governments, and finally its revival in the second half of the last century.