Pope Joan
For a thousand years, her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die–Pope Joan, a controversial figure of historical record who, disguised as a man, rose to rule Christianity in the 9th century as the first and only woman to sit on the throne of St. Peter. In this riveting novel, Donna Woolfolk Cross paints a sweeping portrait of a heroine whose strength of vision led her to defy the social restrictions of her day.
Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against medieval laws forbidding women to learn. When her older brother is brutally killed during a Viking attack, Joan takes up his identity and enters the monastery of Fulda, where she is initiated into the brotherhood in his place. 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 throne in Christendom, wielding a power greater than any woman before or since.
But such power always comes at a price…
Gripping book that looks at a legend I choose to believe. When I traveled to Rome I looked for
evidence that Pope Joan may have existed. The papal route has been changed and there is a small monument that speaks to it. My tour guide at the Vatican had “never heard of such garbage.” Proof enough for me.
True or not, it was a beautifully told story. Big thumbs up.
Johnna