"Pope Joan has all the elements one wants in a historical drama–love, sex, violence, duplicity, and long-buried secrets. Cross has written an engaging book."–Los Angeles Times Book Review

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 . . .

In this international bestseller, Cross brings the Dark Ages to life in all their brutal splendor and shares the dramatic story of a woman whose strength of vision led her to defy the social restrictions of her day.

10.2010:
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Some have heard of the infamous Pope Joan, the woman who disguised herself as a man, and achieved the highest status of the time...The Pope, but many have not. Donna Woolfolk Cross has brought the legend of Pope Joan to life. The novel is written in a fictional sense, but weaves many of the little known facts into the tale. The characters have been created with amazing detail and are a very good representation of the time. One can create a visual image of the atire; the struggle to meet basic needs; and mostly the status and order that prevailed among the classes.
The writing style of Donna Woolfolk Cross sets a marvelous stage for the heroine of this wonderful novel. The authenticity of the historical times surrounding the life of Joan, gives us insight into not only the atmosphere of the church doctrine, but of the disruptive period in history encompassing the Viking Wars; the class structure and the fight for absolute power. Add to all of that, a young girl with a dream that can only be achieved through the use of deception; a forbidden love story fraught with a gamut of emotions and the coveted title of Pope. Then take the girl, take the title; put them together and you have POPE JOAN!

Well this book was one of my favorite books that I read. I decided to organise a bookring so other people will enjoy it as much as I did.

Rules:
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Please make a journal entry as soon as you recieve the book and also when you send it to the next person. Then we know where the book is!

When you are finished with the book please PM the next person on the list and ask for their address so you can send it on to them!

Also let us know what you thought of the book but don't give too much away!

The bookring list until now:
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1. Erishkigal - U.S.A. = within the U.S.A.
2. Valpete - U.S.A. = Internatinal. <===== the book is here
3. Samrana - U.K. = International.
4. Boekentrol - The Netherlands = within Europe.
5. Icila - France = Internatioonal (Back to me Israel).

The Bookring started it's journey today. Enjoy your trip and hope to have you again soon. People enjoy the book.

Safely in Salt Lake City :) Mail delivery has bee coming later and later; yesterday I had already gone to the theatre for tech rehearsal before it arrived. What a great surprise to find in my box at midnight!! And since I had my 'second wind,' I started reading right away.

I am loving the start~already Cross weaves an excellent sense of place and time, class, privation, hardship....she jumps right in here in the prologue, describing the midwife's journey to a delivery~~it was snowing and blowing here, so I could really feel what the weather would be like as one was slogging through the snow and wind, feet and hands only wrapped in rags for protection....I'm frozen to the bone just imagining.....

oops~~I sure thought I had come back and journalled when finished....probably I wanted to say too much for the time I had, so thought, "later."

And now, a couple of weeks later and the book already on it's way, I don't remember much in the way of specifics. I absolutely loved the character of Joan~~ we know so very little, Cross could have made her anything; i loved that she made her both scholar and healer. Whatever she was in reality, she had to have been exceptional to get by as the man she did. The romance was harder to buy...but it did make a great tale :) The time and place was brought alive for me . I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!!! Thank you again for sharing~~I can see why you love it so!!

Pope Joan is now on her way to Valpete.

sent to Valpete yesterday, via media mail.

delivery Confirmation number: 0311 1660 0000 2462 0349

Thanks! I received it today. However, I am very backed up with my reading and this will take some time. If I've kept it too long, please send me a reminder, and I'll send it along.

This was a well written historical novel. The story contains a lot of brutality, corruption, and suffering; however, Joan is a brilliant, compassionate and loving character that helps to balance out the harshness of the times. She also has a few flaws of her own...being born a female is the biggest one of them all.

A young girl in the Middle Ages, bright and keen to learn but is forbidden to do so by tradition. But she gets there, and when the Vikings brutally attack the village where she is staying and her brother is amongst those killed, she cuts off her hair, takes his clothes and enters a monastery as John. Keeping her identity a secret has its problem, but she rises through the ranks and eventually reaches the highest position in the Church. Fact of fable? Who knows?

I've sent a PM to the next person on the list and have not heard back. Now, I've PM'd Boenkentrol and will send it along to her. Thanks, all, for your patience! Sorry it took me so long.

Pope Joan is continuing on her journey to Boekentrol. Enjoy!

This book has arrived safely with me today.
Thank you for sending it across the ocean, valpete AND for adding another one too.

I have two rays ahead and then I'll get to this one :-)

Wow, what a book!
After I signed up for the ring that was organised for this book, I completely forgot again. Untill a while ago I got a reminder that I was next in line.
Having a lot to read already, I hesitated. Should I skip, or read it? I choose the latter, and boy am I glad I did!

First of all I just loved the book, the way it was written. Despite it is in English and my knowlegde of (English terms for) medieval objects, customs etc. is limited, that did not hinder me at all from reading and understanding what was written.

Secondly I learned more about clerical history: I didn't know that there had been a female pope.
And in the same light I learned more about medieval Europe. Brushing up my knowlegde of Latin and / or clerical rites was nice, but I was completely absorbed in the story where it concerned the parts of how life was lived in these days in those parts of the world.
How poor men were for the most part, how ignorant and often unwilling to try new things.

What I knew, but was once again reminded of, is how the Church and the nobility tried to keep away knowlegde from ordinary men, to keep them ignorant and with that more obedient. If one doesn't know otherwise, he's less likely to question the righteousness of decisions made.

I wanted to read and read and read, feeling sad tht with every page I turned I got inevitably closer to the end of the book.

Like I said, I didin't know there had been a female pope, so I don't know how much of the story was true, based on true facts or just made up to create a good historical fiction novel. To me that isn't very important, I loved the story untill the end.

The end of Joan's story, when she died on the same day as the man she loved, well, if that is true, it is a nice coincidence for her (won't give anything more away here!!), but to me it has a sound of 'happily ever after in a twisted way'.

Recommended to those who love historical fiction.

I've sent a PM to Icila, to find out if she still wants to read this book. if she does, it'll be on its way to her in the course of next week.

Thank you so much for sharing, ababaigalit!!

On its way to Icila now, the next in line of the readers.
Safe travels, little book!

Arrived today. Thanks a lot !

A brilliant historical work from the author. I had heard of a "papesse" . We don't know for sure if it's true or is it's a a legend but the author seems well documented about hundreds of manuscripts that had not been erased by the clerics.
Being French it's about my own country as well and it's interesting to learn how was the life (horrible) during the dark ages after Vercingetorix.
Many subjects to think about.

Many thanks for sharing.

On its way back to Israel.

The book is here with me than you to all of you participated in the bookring and I hope you enjoyed the book.