-by Donna Woolfolk Cross
422 pages (1997)
Captivating!Pope Joan is a page-turning epic about the controversial legend of a woman who threw caution and convention to the wind and disguised herself as a man, in order to attain the highest position in Christendom - the Pope. Only found out at the end of her life, she ruled the papacy with respect and honor from her subordinates. While the novel is written in a fictional sense, many little known facts are cleverly woven into the tale to bring the characters and their struggles, alive to the reader.
Extremely well researched and detailed, Woolfolk Cross leaves her readers rivetted to Pope Joan's experiences and life journey, as she strives to evade detection. The exposure of Pope Joan's charade would be punishable by death.
Granted, Pope Joan is not a tale for the faint-hearted. It is intense and deals (often in gruesome detail) with the attrocities which occurred in ignorance during the Dark Age. The victims of such ignorance, were usually women, who were treated little better than beasts. However, it is a book which most history-buffs and avid readers alike will be interested in, as it is intertwined with real life settings - and an unforgettable legend of a determined woman's triumph. Highly recommended.
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I'm the author of Pope Joan, and I'd like to thank you for the wonderful review! I'm delighted to learn that you found Joan's story as inspirational as I did.
ReplyDeleteYour readers might want to know about my special offer to join the conversation on the night book groups (or school groups) discuss Pope Joan. It's really a lot of fun--a chance for readers to ask questions of "the horse's mouth" (me).
All the group needs is a speakerphone. I make the phone call from my end (protects my privacy and it's tax-deductible for me) so there's no expense to the group (or school).
Anyone interested can contact me by leaving a message on the book website, www.popejoan.com.
Thanks again for the kind words about Pope Joan. In my view, she's an inspirational woman, and it's a shame that her story has been lost and forgotten for so long.
Dear Donna,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for yor comment and your special offer!
Pope Joan is one of those books I will never forget and will remain on my "recommended list". Thank you for sharing it with us!
-Beverly