Pope Joan - A Novel

Pope Joan has all the elements one wants in a historical drama love, sex, violence, duplicity, and long-buried secrets. Cross has written an engaging book. Los Angeles Times Book Review

In this international bestseller and basis for the 2009 movie of the same name, Donna Woolfolk Cross brings the Dark Ages to life in all their brutal splendor and shares the dramatic story of a woman whose strength of vision led her to defy the social restrictions of her day.

For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die Pope Joan, the ninth-century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter. Now in this riveting novel, Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. 

Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against medieval social strictures forbidding women to learn. When her brother is brutally killed during a Viking attack, Joan takes up his cloak and his identity and enters the monastery of Fulda. As Brother John Anglicus, Joan distinguishes herself as a great scholar and healer. Eventually, she is drawn to Rome, where she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous web of love, passion, and politics. Triumphing over appalling odds, she finally attains the highest office in Christendom wielding a power greater than any woman before or since. But such power always comes at a price . . . 
 
Brings the savage ninth century vividly to life in all its alien richness. An enthralling, scholarly historical novel. Rebecca Fraser, author of The Brontës

Rezension:

It is so gratifying to read about those rare heroes whose strength of vision enables them to ignore the almost overpowering messages of their own historical periods. . . . Pope Joan has all the elements one wants: love, sex, violence, duplicity and long-buried secrets. Cross has written an engaging book. Los Angeles Times Book Review

A fascinating and moving account of a woman s determination to learn, despite the opposition of family and society. Highly recommended. Library Journal (starred review)

Cross makes an excellent, entertaining case that in the Dark Ages, a woman sat on the papal throne. . . . A colorful, richly imagined novel. Publishers Weekly

Pope Joan reveals the harsh realities of the Dark Ages. Violence is rife in the government, church and home; logic and reason are shunned as dangerous ideas and women are considered useful only as men s servants and child bearers. The novel explores the extraordinary life of an independent, intelligent and courageous woman who overcomes oppression and ascends to the highest level of religious power. . . . Cross masterful use of anticipation, as well as the sweeping historical landscape of the story, keep Pope Joan intriguing. . . . An exciting journey through history as it s being made. San Francisco Chronicle

Eloquently written and spellbinding in its account of this legendary figure. Arizona Republic

The life of an intelligent, headstrong woman in 9th-century Europe, the kind of woman who might have dared such an adventure in an era when obedience was a woman s most admired trait. . . . Cross succeeds admirably, grounding her fast-moving tale in a wealth of rich historical detail. Orlando Sentinel

A story of passion and faith and a reminder that some things never change, only the stage and players do. Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A remarkable woman uses her considerable intellect and more than a little luck to rise from humble origins tobecome the only female Pope, in this breakneck adventure. Kirkus Reviews

A page-turner! Glamour