This book revolves around the 17th century love letters of a Portuguese nun named Marianna Alcaforado. The letters, which have often been attributed to the original translator of the texts, Gabriel-Joseph de Lavergne, the vicomte of Guilleragues, are deeply sensual and spiritual and express the pain of unrequited love. This was Matisse's first project with the noted Greek publisher and critic Tériade, who published the artistic and literary magazine Verve from 1936 to 1960. The collaboration between Matisse and Tériade, which also included the 1947 book Jazz, produced some of the most creative and inventive artist's books of this century. Letters of a Portuguese Nun is one of the most intimate of these joint projects.