Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

   

 

Title: Pope Joan

Author: Donna Woolfolk Cross

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Synopsis: "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, Donna Woolfolk 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...." - back cover 

My Thoughts

I loved this novel so much. I love that the author suggests that Joan was more than just a myth. I love the depiction of Joan's love of learning as a child and her time learning at the schola. I love that Gerold loves her for her intelligence and curiosity. I love that she wants the freedom to learn and speak her mind so much that she is willing to disguise herself as a man for years. I love that her intelligence and spirit garner the trust of so many people that they elect her pope. It is just so well done. It is at turns uplifting and heartbreaking. I could not put it down.

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