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Teresa always denied her own saintliness, however, saying in a letter: \"There is no suggestion of that nonsense about my supposed sanctity.\" This frank account is one of the great stories of a religious life and a literary masterpiece—after Don Quixote, it is Spain's most widely read prose classic. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780140440737","publication_date":"19880105","publisher":"Penguin Publishing Group","slug":"the-life-of-saint-teresa-of-avila-by-herself","subtitle":"","title":"The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"LCO022040","confidence_band":"low","label":"Faith & Inspiration","score":0.6561,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004280","confidence_band":"low","label":"Iberian Lit Crit","score":0.6495,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004290","confidence_band":"low","label":"Women Authors Criticism","score":0.6467,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"LCO022040","confidence_band":"low","label":"Faith & Inspiration","score":0.6561,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004280","confidence_band":"low","label":"Iberian Lit Crit","score":0.6495,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004290","confidence_band":"low","label":"Women Authors Criticism","score":0.6467,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"BIO018000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Religious Lives","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS045000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Spanish & Portuguese History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004190","confidence_band":"high","label":"Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Faith & Inspiration","score":0.6561,"slug":"faith-inspiration"},{"label":"Iberian Lit Crit","score":0.6495,"slug":"iberian-lit-crit"},{"label":"Women Authors Criticism","score":0.6467,"slug":"women-authors-criticism"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in spiritual autobiography and religious history","Those exploring women's roles in historical religious contexts"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Erin Blakemore"],"book_id":"9780061958762","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780061958762.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":13.0447,"title":"The Heroine's Bookshelf","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780061958762"},{"authors":["Stephen Greenblatt"],"book_id":"9780393343403","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393343403.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":10.6791,"title":"The Swerve","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393343403"},{"authors":["Geoffrey of Monmouth","Lewis Thorpe"],"book_id":"9780140441703","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140441703.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":10.5943,"title":"The History of the Kings of Britain","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140441703"},{"authors":["Laura Hillenbrand"],"book_id":"9780812974492","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780812974492.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":10.5673,"title":"Unbroken","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780812974492"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world history"],"label":"History","score":0.6093,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Book Club","score":0.2144,"slug":"book-club"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world history"],"label":"World","score":0.1699,"slug":"world"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:biography"],"label":"Biography","score":0.0637,"slug":"biography"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: spirituality, mysticism, religious life.","Pacing: reflective, voice-and-character forward.","Story elements: visionary experiences, founding religious institutions, self-doubt about sanctity."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.9,"pacing":"reflective","reader_fit":["Readers interested in spiritual autobiography and religious history","Those exploring women's roles in historical religious contexts"],"themes":["spirituality","mysticism","religious life"],"tropes":["visionary experiences","founding religious institutions","self-doubt about sanctity"]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":3075,"goodreads_reviews_count":298,"quality_score":0.9266}}