Pope Joan

By: Donna Woolfolk Cross

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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....

©1996 , 2009 Donna Woolfolk Cross (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"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." (Amazon.com review)
"In this colorful, richly imagined novel, Cross ably inspires a suspension of disbelief, pulling off the improbable feat of writing a romance starring a pregnant pope." ( Publishers Weekly)

Gripping. Fantastic reader.

I’m convinced this book was well-researches but even if you don’t believe there is any truth to this story, it is a fascinating read, well-written, and I thoroughly enjoyed Barbara Rosenblat’s reading. I’ve gone on to search for more books read by her. I don’t want a predictable book, weak characters, story lines that are too convenient, or under developed characters. This book didn’t disappoint. I’ve listened to it twice.

Silly Woman!

Donna Cross leaves no cliche uncoined in this overlong and faintly ridiculous attempt at the legend of a medieval female pope. There are numerous anachronisms, and the turgid prose, predictable plot make it very difficult for Barbara Rosenblat to give it a convincing reading. After her exceptional reading of the Amelia Peabody novels, I had hoped for much more from her. The yawn factor was very high for me with this book. I'm being generous with 3 stars.

Great Historical Novel

Would you consider the audio edition of Pope Joan to be better than the print version?

This is a very interesting story, I'm not sure if is History or fiction, but either way is very well written and with lots of great detail of the time period.
I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't wait to listen to it.

Love this book

This is a great listen if you're interested in historical fiction. The story was compelling, the characters sympathetic and the narration flawless.
I will be listening to this one again at some point. Fantastic!

A delight from start to finish!

Great story, well researched, and brilliantly narrated. There's just the right amount of historical detail to give the flavour without getting lost in detail.

Interesting Read

I grew up hearing stories of the possibility that a woman, who had taken on the appearance of a man, had become Pope for a short period of time. This book is about how that could have truly been the case. I really enjoyed this book.

What came first? The Chair Exam or Pope Joan?

I believe Pope Joan existed and shook the Roman Catholic Church to its core. Following the historical character of the Church to edit and control their own history, it’s easy to believe Woolfolk-Cross’ story is closer to the truth than anything the church can offer.

Disappointing

I had heard a lot of good buzz about this novel and was looking forward to it. In the end, while it kept my attention, it was just OK. Cross relied too heavily on clich??s, and the book would have been better without shoving in the mushy romance. So is the moral of the story that women should be treated as individuals and judged according to their abilities--or is it that women, in the end, really are creatures ruled by their passions and need a man to control them?

Read this book!!!

An unbelievably enjoyable listen, with plenty of suspense! The narration is fantastic, too! Plenty to capture imagination, and very, very hard to take a break from listening..

Exceptional research, written, and read!

Would you consider the audio edition of Pope Joan to be better than the print version?

I love Barbara Rosenblat, so I'm bias.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Pope Joan?

Too many to count.

Which character – as performed by Barbara Rosenblat – was your favorite?

They were all preformed very well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me think.