{"product_id":"books-pope-joan-by-donna-woolfolk-cross","title":"Pope Joan","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePope Joan\u003c\/i\u003e has all the elements one wants in a historical drama - love, sex, violence, duplicity, and long-buried secrets. Cross has written an engaging book.\u003ci\u003e-Los Angeles Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this international bestseller and basis for the 2009 movie of the same name\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003e Donna Woolfolk 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor 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, Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBrilliant 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 . . . \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBrings the savage ninth century vividly to life in all its alien richness. An enthralling, scholarly historical novel.\u003cbr\u003e--Rebecca Fraser, Author of The Bront s","brand":"World of Books ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53480469102865,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780307452368.jpg?v=1777547935","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/products\/books-pope-joan-by-donna-woolfolk-cross","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}