Against the backdrop of 14th-century Europe—a time of social turmoil, outbreaks of the bubonic plague, a catastrophic war that devastated the continent, and an overall transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance—this intelligent and comprehensive biography of an oftentimes irreverent, intense, and fiery woman offers an entry point into the life of Catherine of Siena. Deeply researched and based on the latest sources, this history recalls Saint Catherine—as she would later be called—as a champion of peace who cajoled and, at times, begged popes, monarchs, and ordinary citizens to do her will.