Product Description
"Engaging . . . Pope Joan has all the elements: love, sex, violence, duplicity, and long-buried secrets."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review

For a thousand years men have denied her existence--Pope Joan, the woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to rule Christianity for two years. Now this compelling novel animates the legend with a portrait of an unforgettable woman who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept.

When her older brother dies in a Viking attack, the brilliant young Joan assumes his identity and enters a Benedictine monastery where, as Brother John Anglicus, she distinguishes herself as a scholar and healer. Eventually drawn to Rome, she soon becomes enmeshed in a dangerous mix of powerful passion and explosive politics that threatens her life even as it elevates her to the highest throne in the Western world.

"Brings the savage ninth century vividly to life in all its alien richness. An enthralling, scholarly historical novel."
--Rebecca Fraser, Author of The Brontës

Amazon.com Review
One of the most controversial women of history is brought to brilliant life in Donn Woolfolk Cross's tale of Pope Joan, a girl whose origins should have kept her in squalid domesticity. Instead, through her intelligence, indomitability and courage, she ascended to the throne of Rome as Pope John Anglicus.

The time is 814, the place is Ingelheim, a Frankland village. It is the harshest winter in living memory when Joan is born to an English father and a Saxon mother. Her father is a canon, filled with holy zeal and capable of unconscionable cruelty. His piety does not extend to his family members, especially the females. His wife, Gudrun, is a young beauty to whom he was attracted beyond his will--and he hates her for showing him his weakness. Gudrun teaches Joan about her gods, and is repeatedly punished for it by the canon. Joan grows to young womanhood with the combined knowledge of the warlike Saxon gods and the teachings of the Church as her heritage. Both realities inform her life forever.

When her brother John, not a scholarly type, is sent away to school, Joan, who was supposed to be the one sent to school, runs away and joins him in Dorstadt, at Villaris, the home of Gerold, who is central to Joan's story. She falls in love with Gerold and their lives interesect repeatedly even through her Papacy. She is looked upon by all who know that she is a woman as a "lusus naturae," a freak of nature. "She was... male in intellect, female in body, she fit in nowhere; it was as if she belonged to a third amorphous sex." Cross makes the case over and over again that the status of women in the Dark Ages was little better than cattle. They were judged inferior in every way, and necessary evils in the bargain.

After John is killed in a Viking attack, Joan sees her opportunity to escape the fate of all her gender. She cuts her hair, dons her dead brother's clothes and goes into the world as a young boy. Gerold is away from Villaris at the time of the attack and comes home to find his home in ruins, his family killed and Joan among the missing. After the attack, Joan goes to a Benedictine monastery, is accepted as a young man of great learning, and eventually makes her way to Rome.

The author is at pains to tell the reader in an Epilogue that she has written the story as fiction because it is impossible to document Joan's accesion to the Papacy. The Catholic Church has done everything possible to deny this embarrassment. Whether or not one believes in Joan as Pope, this is a compelling story, filled with all kinds of lore: the brutishness of the Dark Ages, Vatican intrigue, politics and favoritism and most of all, the place of women in the Church and in the world. --Valerie Ryan

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 283 reviews)

I believe

"Let her copy the behavior of a dog who always has his heart and his eye upon his master: even if his master whip him and throw stones at him." That is an excerpt from the book. It was in a wedding ceremony, spoken to the bride of course. What a lovely time that must have been to be a woman! I liked this book very much due mostly to the fact it is about an amazingly strong, courageous, and gutsy woman. She struggled like no other heroine I have yet read about. The first half of the book has more personality and really focuses on her, her thoughts, her feelings, and her trials. The last half of the book bored me to tears in some places, as it tends to go on and on about the papacy and a lot of war. That was the times and what was occuring during that part of her life, but I wish it had a more personal feel like the first half of the book. NOTE: be aware this is very controversial and when you are overheard discussing it with your close buddy, some very opinated, know it all male is going to butt in and give his two cents and deny her existence. To each their own I say. I BELIEVE.
August 16, 2008

I was surprised that I loved this book

This book is not the typical book for me, I like murder mysteries, forensic studies, etc. I was given the book by a co-worker to read. I enjoyed it immensely, as a matter of fact I could barely put it down. The only reason I did put it down is the print was so small, my eyes grew weary. I finally purchased a page sized magnifier to get through it. Most intriguing read.
July 31, 2008

Anachronisms and Axes to Grind

A number of reviewers here have noted the protagonist's jarringly modern feminist philosophy, some with a good deal of disdain. Speaking as a feminist, I find the anachronism irritating for the opposite reason some of these people dislike it. Many are annoyed by what they see as propaganda or polticial correctnes, but *everyone* who notes the problem sees at least one thing in common: this modern mindset is simply inappropriate to the setting.

There is a trope now, of proto-feminist Mary Sue characters, paragons of virtue, intellect, and (pointlessly) physical beauty. Understanding why this tempted authors at one time doesn't excuse it years and years into the trend. It's lazy writing, and dishonest philosophizing, to set female characters outside their time (why write about any given period, only to stay outside it?). I see no benefit in telling tales of characters who are now so easily identifiable as frauds. I also see little point in inventing avalanches of abuses for such characters to endure; this sort of thing tips easily into ludicrousness.

Life on its own real terms would have been difficult for any woman in Pope Joan's (purported) period. Manufacturing drama misses that very plain point, and dismisses the weight of reality. Likewise, overstating the perfections of a female character implicitly questions the value of real, flawed womanhood. More to the point, for a book review: it makes for tedious, weak, shallow writing.

As others have also noted, the religious prejudices are thick and oppressive throughout this novel. I'm not Catholic, but Cross's apparent resentment against the Church is distracting and offputting. There are places in which story feels replaced by screed, and token attempts to create (minutely) sympathetic characters fail to achieve any balance.

You can do a blade disservice by grinding it too hard. A dull axe is a poor weapon to wield.
July 29, 2008

WOW!

I must say, I started reading this for book club and had no idea as to the subject matter. Even though it is titled Pope Joan, in my mind, I assumed this was a historical fiction account of Joan of Arc. Boy did I get my Joans confused! I loved this book and learned so much. I had never heard of Pope Joan and am so glad I did. Her character, spirit, wit and knowledge kept me rooting for her the whole way. Reminiscint of Shield of Three Lions by Pamela Kaufman.
July 27, 2008

Excellent Historical Fiction

When this novel was released, there was some minor brouhaha about how it's "untrue", "there was never a female pope", "the author is taking liberties", etc. The kind of controversy that sprang up when "The Da Vinci Code" was released, though nowhere near that level. All of which drew me to the book like a moth to flame. The novel tells the tale of a young woman eager for knowledge who takes on the identity of her brother in order to get an education (as only clergy were eligible to be educated in that time) and ends up being elected Pope. I happen to be Roman catholic, and I wasn't offended by what the author proposes. I love historical fiction, so I didn't really care if it was true or not. What mattered was: did the author do adequate research on the time, customs, people and other details to make the story seem real, come alive and keep me turning the pages? Thankfully, the answer was a resounding yes.

Cross focuses on Joan, and the story is told from her point of view. She is an engaging heroine, and I immediately felt immersed in her tale. The writing is fluid, with good background description to put the reader in the right time frame. Yet, the author doesn't become bogged down with details. This truly was a page-turner. Joan slowly rises to prominence in the church, so I had no problem when she was elected Pope. One gripe I did have was the pregnancy fiasco - the ending became more of a circus attraction that didn't fit as well with the rest of the novel. However, it didn't ruin the novel, just tarnished it a bit. Overall, Cross manages to convince us that the unbelievable did happen.

Though this is a work of fiction, the author cleverly includes some factual evidence (circumstantial, certainly) to pique a reader's curiosity about the real possibility that a woman did indeed get elected pope disguised as a man. Church historians and leaders have quick, and likely valid, counters to this evidence, but its existence is tantalizing. This small section made the book that much better because it kept me thinking long past the final page. Some readers have blasted the book for being untrue. Just as many other historical fiction authors have been attacked, including best seller Philippa Gregory. This is fiction - don't read it if you're looking for facts. Overall, a thought-provoking tale with a smart, likeable heroine and excellent writing. Highly recommended.
July 08, 2008

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