Book report of pope joan

An english writer, alexander cooke, wrote a book entitled pope joane. If joan had agreed to leave with gerold when he first came to rome, what would her life have been like. Cross has done a superb job bringing the tale of pope joan to life in this riveting, epic pageturner. Free download or read online pope joan pdf epub book. In this brilliant adaptation of a novel by the 19th century greek author emmanuel royidis, lawrence durrell traces the remarkable history of a young woman who travelled across europe in the ninth century disguised as a monk, acquired great learning, and ruled over christendom for two years as pope john viii before her sudden and surprising death. The first edition of the novel was published in 1996, and was written by donna woolfolk cross. The first written account of pope joan can be traced to a th century work known as the chronica universalis mettensis chronicle of metz. Donna woolfolk crosss debut historical novel, pope joan 1996, is a fictionalized account of the ninthcentury woman who disguised herself as a man, later becoming the first female pope. A dialogue between a protestant and a papist, which purported to prove the existence of pope joan by reference to catholic traditions. I picked this up after finishing john julius norwichs 2011 history of the papacy, absolute monarchs. A longstanding tradition has insisted that there was a female pope in the ninth century. This film when shown in america was called the devils imposture. Pope joan book king county library system bibliocommons.

And now, an analysis of ancient silver coins suggests that the ordained woman may have actually lived. The authors version of that story imagines joan as the daughter of a village canon. The story of pope joan has all the elements of a ripping good scandal sex. Gifted with a thirst for knowledge and the ability to reason, joan soon learns these traits are of little use to a young girl of the ninth century. Find discussion questions and reading group guide for pope joan by donna woolfolk. Joan eventually finds her way to rome, where the lures of passion and politics threaten to. Men and women readers will appreciate the historic setting and the stormy early church history, viking and saracen raids, the collapse of the carolingian empire.

In order to gain an education, joan disguises herself as a man. Always update books hourly, if not looking, search in the book search column. No one knows for sure if pope joan, or pope john anglicus as she called herself, really existed. Besides addressing the fable of pope joan, diane sawyer and donna cross showed their feminist bent. The story was widely believed for centuries, but most modern scholars regard it as fictional. Donna woolfolk cross featured in new york times article. This book, however, it turns out is a translation of a greek text very irreverent and quite funny, once you get used to. A biography 1996, has resurrected a wonderful legend.

After having done some extensive research on the subject of a previous female pope, i have come to the conclusion that the character pope joan. There are no reliable references to her during her lifetime, and. I loved durrells alexandria quartet but had read nothing else by him. One in which she is almost a man, a priest who does many almost unbelievable things. I have also on my shelf, another book called pope joan which is a novel. Pope joan is a best book club book for discussion about the woman who, disguised as a man, rose to rule christianity as the only woman to sit on the throne of st. Pope joan, legendary female pontiff who supposedly reigned for more than 25 months, from 855 to 858, under the title of john viii. Brilliant and talented, young joan rebels against the medieval social strictures forbidding women to learn to read and write. Subscribe book shop travel with us smartnews history. In this riveting novel, donna woolfolk cross paints a sweeping portrait of a heroine whose strength. A synopsis of pope joan for a thousand years, her existence has been denied. Gifted with a thirst for knowledge and the ability to reason, joan soon learns these traits. Hardly a surprise, given the undeniable morbid curiosity that scandal in high places excites in the masses.

The main characters of this historical, historical fiction story are pope joan. There are more than 1 million books that have been enjoyed by people from all over the world. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the th century and subsequently spread throughout europe. For a thousand years, her existence has been denied. I myself believe the book s contents to have historical accuracy. She is the legend that will not diepope 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. I couldnt stop listening to it, and after i finished i thought more about the carichtors.

A masterwork of suspense and passion that has as its center an unforgettable woman, the 9th century pope joan. Over time joan, disguised as john anglicus, is eventually afforded opportunities at levels of power that most men never reach. When i think of the book pope joan, written by the amazing writer donna cross, i am filled with awe and pride. Pdf pope joan book by donna woolfolk cross free download. Pope joan donna woolfolk cross, 1996 crown publishing 448 pp. Despite her medieval celebrity, most historians now dismiss pope joan as a myth. What similarities or differences do you see between pope joan and saint joan of arc. After finishing donna cross novelization of joan s life, one may want her to be a real person, only because 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. Now in this riveting novel, donna woolfolk cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. Get ebooks pope joan on pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi and audiobook for free. Putting her brilliant mind to good use, she excels as a scholar and healer. To write pope joan, donna woolfolk cross has also deepened many sources and took seven years before to write the book. Even so, her father begrudgingly allows a visiting religious scholar to tutor joan with her brother.

Her secret, the fact that she is a woman, is known to. To think, i bought it months ago, and its sat on my shelf all that time. Review of pope joan by donna woolfolk cross advicesbooks. Legends of a medieval female pope may tell the truth. For the most part this novel is the story of a young woman, whose desire to gain more knowledge compels her to dress up as a man, who due to events beyond her control eventually rises to bec ome the pope. Cross makes an excellent, entertaining case in her work of historical fiction that, in the dark ages, a woman sat on the papal throne for two years. A full length film in 1972, entitled pope joan, also presented her as its central character. For the most part this novel is the story of a young woman, whose desire to gain more. It has subsequently been proved that a gap of only a few weeks fell between pope leo iv and pope benedict iii and that the story is entirely apocryphal. Although it is questionable that pope joan really did exist, this movie presents her existence as fact, and portrays her relationships with other notables of the time. A remarkable woman uses her considerable intellectand more than a little luckto rise from humble origins to become the only female pope, in this breakneck adventure from newcomer cross. Indeed, it seems pope joan is a really existed person, but since the story was deleted by the religious authorities in the middle age, today there are no reliable sources confirming the life of a female pope.

Why the legend of medieval pope joan persists smart news. The idea of a female pope, or really any woman disguising herself as a man, makes for a very interesting book you have to admit that you are curious about how she pulled it off. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 422 pages and is available in paperback format. For the most part this novel is the story of a young woman, whose desire to gain more knowledge compels her to dress up as a man, who due to events beyond her control eventually rises to become the pope. It was republished in 1675 as a present for a papist. Why was one joan expunged from history books and the other made a saint. Todays book is the historical fiction novel pope joan by donna woolfolk cross. Pope joan named best feature film at ojai and moondance film festivals.

Pope joan by donna woolfolk cross book club discussion. They spoke of the mistreatment of women at the time, including wife beating and the inability to be educated. Pope jo an is a 1996 novel by american writer donna woolfolk cross. After a very shocking trauma, joan chose to live in 2 worlds. The book follows joan s entire life, from birth until death, and in a way serves as a tour of the early middle ages from a distinctly feminist point of view. Before i started reading this book i gave a brief summary to some of my friends who saw that i had just bought it and were. Joan s father was a member of the clergy during the period in time when it was common for them to be married and have children. A rich, delightful little book that brings pope joan to life. In it norwich says he puts pope joan aside as apocryphal only with great regretwhich intrigued me. Pope joan is a 1996 novel by american writer donna woolfolk cross. I could go on and on about the storyline and the characters, but suffice it to say that i thought they were terrific.

I guess now is the time when i needed to read the book. While watching the abc special report, i was irritated at the obvious anticatholic propaganda. This movie is based on the medieval legend of pope joan, who was made pope for a brief period around 855 a. Medieval legends claim that pope joan was the first and only female pope. Stanford, former editor of londons catholic herald and author of the devil. Introduction pope joan has all the elements one wants in a historical drama love, sex, violence, duplicity, and longburied secrets. Book leaves you with many questions and great discussion. Buy this book cross makes an excellent, entertaining case in her work of historical fiction that, in the dark ages, a woman sat on the. Pope joan introduction since 1970 the british public has been treated to several books, a radio drama and a london stage play, asserting that at one time a woman reigned as pope. About pope joan pope joan has all the elements one wants in a historical dramalove, sex, violence, duplicity, and longburied secrets. Pope joan is a fictional account based on the legend of a woman who served as pope under the guise of a man in the midninth century. This book got hidden away among the volumes on my shelf, and i only recently refound it.