Diderot cited the novel as one of his favorite texts and revised it obsessively until his death in 1784. Despite his efforts, the novel remains unfinished. Never one to restrain his pen, Diderot knew that the novel’s scathing portrait of religious life would never get past the royal censors. Rather than risk another stint in prison, Diderot circulated the novel clandestinely in 1780 among subscribers to the Correspondance littéraire. It was published in 1796 as part of the first complete edition of his works. A whiff of scandal has always accompanied La Religieuse from the original affair to the prank that shaped its characters and plot. The scandal continued in the twentieth century when Jacques Rivette made the first film version in 1966.