A Dangerous Fortune, by Ken Follett (1993)
A Dangerous Fortune was the first book that I read on an e-reader. I don’t believe, however, the medium used to read this book influenced my feeling of the book. I was disappointed in this Follett novel. I found it too much of a formula book ~ the villain with no conscious, who takes what he wants without regard for others, the wealthy family with its poor relatives, and the humiliation of those with less.
The novel begins at a wealthy private English academy by the mysterious drowning of Peter Middleton in a quarry near the school. Edward Pilaster and Mickey Miranda, a South American, who are two years older than Peter know more about his death than they let on. The death sets the backdrop of the rest of the novel.
The Pilasters are a wealthy banking dynasty. Hugh’s father was the black sheep of the family, who went off on his own. When his business went bankrupt, he killed himself, leaving his family as the poor relations of the Pilaster family. Hugh, however, is a talented banker in his own right. He goes to work for the family business, but is given no favors for being a family member. Edward, however, is a different story. He has no head for business, but is ultimately made a senior partner.
Edward’s mother, Augusta, is very social conscious and schemes have her husband become a Lord. She is sexually attracted to Mickey Miranda, although she doesn’t act on her impulses. Mickey has led her to believe that Edward is responsible for Peter’s drowning, although the official story is that Edward tried to save Peter.
Follett spent a considerable focus on the romantic relationships of the major characters. There is the obligatory anti-Semitism with a rival banker who is Jewish. Augusta schemes to see that he is denied a place in parliament due to his religious background. In addition, Follett spends a considerable amount of time spent on sexual relationships between the major characters and the women of the brothel. The major characters are in loveless marriages so frequent the brothels. Edward, it seems is a closet homosexual, who is only able to have relations when Mickey is present.
A Dangerous Fortune does not hold a candle to Follett’s sagas, Pillars of the Earth, or The World Without End.
Read: December 7, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Books Set in Europe: 18th Century England
The Elephant Keeper, by Christopher Nicholson (2009)
The Elephant Keeper is narrated by Tom Page, a young man who was hired to mind the horses for a wealthy landowner in England in the late 1700s. When his master purchases two Indian elephants, Tom is put in charge of these large, exotic beasts. The elephants had been transported to England, crated in large boxes and arrived near death. Tom learns to tend these animals with love. Tom devotes his entire life to "his" elephants, forgoing the love of a woman who might have been a good companion for him.
Tom gives the elephants names ~ Timothy and Jenny. No one in England knows anything about elephants, and Tom, who is barely literate, is asked to write a history of elephants, thus the book is Tom’s “history” of his elephants.
Early on, Tom observes that Timothy periodically has hormonal episodes that render him very dangerous and uncontrollable. Eventually, the elephants are sold separately. Tom stays with Jenny and moves to another wealthy landowner, Lord Bidborough. Tom and Jenny live happily on Lord Bidborough’s estate. Tom learns that elephants are very intelligent and teaches Jenny lots of tricks.
Lord Bidborough son and heir, however, is malicious. He mistreats people, especially woman, and the elephants. After the son rapes one of the lower-class young women, following an outing in which he demanded that Tom and Jenny provide the transportation, he (the heir) turns up dead. Jenny does not forget those who mistreat her.
After the death of Lord Bidborough, Tom and Jenny find themselves in a traveling circus. Tom’s narrative is not only about the life of an elephant, but also a portrait of life in England in the 18th Century. It shows a cross-section of life among the gentry as well as those struggling to make a living.
The Elephant Keeper starts out slowly. It took a while for me to concentrate on the story, but about a third of the way, this book just opened up and was a real gift. The Elephant Keeper is an amazing first novel by Christopher Nicholson.
Read: November 8, 2010
The Elephant Keeper is narrated by Tom Page, a young man who was hired to mind the horses for a wealthy landowner in England in the late 1700s. When his master purchases two Indian elephants, Tom is put in charge of these large, exotic beasts. The elephants had been transported to England, crated in large boxes and arrived near death. Tom learns to tend these animals with love. Tom devotes his entire life to "his" elephants, forgoing the love of a woman who might have been a good companion for him.
Tom gives the elephants names ~ Timothy and Jenny. No one in England knows anything about elephants, and Tom, who is barely literate, is asked to write a history of elephants, thus the book is Tom’s “history” of his elephants.
Early on, Tom observes that Timothy periodically has hormonal episodes that render him very dangerous and uncontrollable. Eventually, the elephants are sold separately. Tom stays with Jenny and moves to another wealthy landowner, Lord Bidborough. Tom and Jenny live happily on Lord Bidborough’s estate. Tom learns that elephants are very intelligent and teaches Jenny lots of tricks.
Lord Bidborough son and heir, however, is malicious. He mistreats people, especially woman, and the elephants. After the son rapes one of the lower-class young women, following an outing in which he demanded that Tom and Jenny provide the transportation, he (the heir) turns up dead. Jenny does not forget those who mistreat her.
After the death of Lord Bidborough, Tom and Jenny find themselves in a traveling circus. Tom’s narrative is not only about the life of an elephant, but also a portrait of life in England in the 18th Century. It shows a cross-section of life among the gentry as well as those struggling to make a living.
The Elephant Keeper starts out slowly. It took a while for me to concentrate on the story, but about a third of the way, this book just opened up and was a real gift. The Elephant Keeper is an amazing first novel by Christopher Nicholson.
Read: November 8, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Books Set in the United States
The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time by Judith Shulevitz (2010).
The Sabbath is not just a holy day of rest. It is also a concept of a less pressured and purer world.
Judith Shulevitz describes her own reckoning with the Sabbath by exploring the concepts of the Jewish and Christian sabbaths. How the sabbath is celebrated changes throughout time. It's origins come from Torah, Talmud and Christian Gospels. Various religious doctrines have imposed harsh penalties on those who fail to rest on the Sabbath, yet other views perceive the Sabbath as being made for man's reflection on life.
This book is an interesting meditation of the meaning of a day of rest. It is somewhat scholarly and not an easy read.
Read: October 2010.
The Sabbath is not just a holy day of rest. It is also a concept of a less pressured and purer world.
Judith Shulevitz describes her own reckoning with the Sabbath by exploring the concepts of the Jewish and Christian sabbaths. How the sabbath is celebrated changes throughout time. It's origins come from Torah, Talmud and Christian Gospels. Various religious doctrines have imposed harsh penalties on those who fail to rest on the Sabbath, yet other views perceive the Sabbath as being made for man's reflection on life.
This book is an interesting meditation of the meaning of a day of rest. It is somewhat scholarly and not an easy read.
Read: October 2010.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Books Set in Europe: Germany and Poland
Skeletons at the Feast, by Chris Bohjalian (2008)
Skeletons at the Feast is the first book by Chris Bohjalian that I have ever read. I was quite taken by this book and the author’s writing style. This novel takes place at the end of World War II and describes the flight of the Germans from Prussia as the Russian army invades. The author gained access to the diary of a neighbor’s grandmother who had experienced first-hand the flight as the Russian army marched through Poland.
The novel tells the story from three perspectives ~ a wealthy German family living in Prussia traveling with a Scottish POW caught behind enemy lines; Cecile, a Jewish woman in a concentration camp; and a renegade Jew who essentially wills himself to survive the war.
The Emmerich’s, the German, tried to ignore and downplay the horrific events of the war. Living on the family estate are Mutti, the mother, Rolf, the father, their 18-year old twins, Anna and Helmut, and 10-year old Theo. Their oldest son is already off fighting for the Reich.
Mutti convinces herself that the German cause will prevail. She has hung a portrait of the fuehrer in her parlor, but apparently doesn’t fully understand or appreciate what the fuerher stands for. Rolf, however, has a better understanding of what is going on. He convinces his wife that they must flee to Germany before the Russian army reaches their country estate. He and Anna tell Mutti that they have buried the family silverware and will retrieve it when they return. In fact, however, in the middle of January 1945, the ground is too frozen solid. Both Anna and her father know that returning to the family home is not a reality.
The family gathers what belongings it can and sets off. Traveling with the Emmerich's, although hidden under the food supplies in their wagon, is Callum Finella, the Scottish paratrooper and prisoner of war who had been assisting on the family farm. Their motive for taking Callum, however, it not altogether altruistic. The father hopes that by having the POW with them, Callum will buy them safety from the Allied army. Unbeknownst to the rest of the family, Anna and Callum have become lovers. Soon, however, the father and Helmut decide to turn around to fight the Russian army. Mutti, Anna Theo continue on alone towards Germany.
A second perspective of the events is Cecile, a French Jewish prisoner in a concentration/work camp. In the final months of the War, the Germans attempted to erase signs of the concentration and work camps. Cecile was in a group of women who were marched from such a camp. Cecile came from a privileged family who attributed her survival to her hiking boots.
The novel also follows Uri Singer. He and his family had been rounded up and forced into a rail car for transport to Auschwitz. Uri managed to escape and, after killing a Nazi soldier, passes as a German. Knowing that his family has likely been killed, Uri does everything possible to survive to tell their tale. He becomes a chameleon, changing names and identities with alarming frequency. He takes the uniforms and names of various German soldiers who he kills when they cross his path. Uri is obsessed with his sister, from whom he was separated from when they were forced into the rail car. He ultimately ends up joining the Emmerichs’ on their trek. Although he doesn’t reveal his true identity, he begins go find comfort with this German family.
Skeletons at the Feast explores questions not often seen in Holocaust novels. Did civilians really know what was going on in Germany? How much did they know, and how could they not take action? The author describes this chaotic period of World War II in a way I had not seen before. The characters are fully developed and react in ways very human ways when faced with such agonizing moral choices encountered during wartime.
Read: October 3, 2010.
Skeletons at the Feast is the first book by Chris Bohjalian that I have ever read. I was quite taken by this book and the author’s writing style. This novel takes place at the end of World War II and describes the flight of the Germans from Prussia as the Russian army invades. The author gained access to the diary of a neighbor’s grandmother who had experienced first-hand the flight as the Russian army marched through Poland.
The novel tells the story from three perspectives ~ a wealthy German family living in Prussia traveling with a Scottish POW caught behind enemy lines; Cecile, a Jewish woman in a concentration camp; and a renegade Jew who essentially wills himself to survive the war.
The Emmerich’s, the German, tried to ignore and downplay the horrific events of the war. Living on the family estate are Mutti, the mother, Rolf, the father, their 18-year old twins, Anna and Helmut, and 10-year old Theo. Their oldest son is already off fighting for the Reich.
Mutti convinces herself that the German cause will prevail. She has hung a portrait of the fuehrer in her parlor, but apparently doesn’t fully understand or appreciate what the fuerher stands for. Rolf, however, has a better understanding of what is going on. He convinces his wife that they must flee to Germany before the Russian army reaches their country estate. He and Anna tell Mutti that they have buried the family silverware and will retrieve it when they return. In fact, however, in the middle of January 1945, the ground is too frozen solid. Both Anna and her father know that returning to the family home is not a reality.
The family gathers what belongings it can and sets off. Traveling with the Emmerich's, although hidden under the food supplies in their wagon, is Callum Finella, the Scottish paratrooper and prisoner of war who had been assisting on the family farm. Their motive for taking Callum, however, it not altogether altruistic. The father hopes that by having the POW with them, Callum will buy them safety from the Allied army. Unbeknownst to the rest of the family, Anna and Callum have become lovers. Soon, however, the father and Helmut decide to turn around to fight the Russian army. Mutti, Anna Theo continue on alone towards Germany.
A second perspective of the events is Cecile, a French Jewish prisoner in a concentration/work camp. In the final months of the War, the Germans attempted to erase signs of the concentration and work camps. Cecile was in a group of women who were marched from such a camp. Cecile came from a privileged family who attributed her survival to her hiking boots.
The novel also follows Uri Singer. He and his family had been rounded up and forced into a rail car for transport to Auschwitz. Uri managed to escape and, after killing a Nazi soldier, passes as a German. Knowing that his family has likely been killed, Uri does everything possible to survive to tell their tale. He becomes a chameleon, changing names and identities with alarming frequency. He takes the uniforms and names of various German soldiers who he kills when they cross his path. Uri is obsessed with his sister, from whom he was separated from when they were forced into the rail car. He ultimately ends up joining the Emmerichs’ on their trek. Although he doesn’t reveal his true identity, he begins go find comfort with this German family.
Skeletons at the Feast explores questions not often seen in Holocaust novels. Did civilians really know what was going on in Germany? How much did they know, and how could they not take action? The author describes this chaotic period of World War II in a way I had not seen before. The characters are fully developed and react in ways very human ways when faced with such agonizing moral choices encountered during wartime.
Read: October 3, 2010.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Books Set in Israel
Terror: How Israel Has Coped and What America Can Learn, by Leonard A. Cole (2006)
I had the opportunity to meet the author, Leonard Cole in 2007, just at this book was about to be released. Cole is an expert in bioterrorism and terror medicine. In this book, he describes how terrorist attacks against Israel have affected the Israelis and how the Israelis have build in mechanisms to deal with the constant terror attacks against their country.
No country has experienced more terrorist attacks then Israel. As a result, Israel has developed innovative methods to respond to such attacks and threats of attacks. It is well known that the best trauma medicine in the world is being developed in Israeli hospitals.
Although there was a method to his madness, the author's narrative was not in chronological order, which made reading somewhat disorienting. Each chapter of the book discusses the effects of terror on different groups of people or events. There is a chapter on bus attacks, for instance, as well as families of terror attacks, and how doctors and nurses cope with treating terror victims. Israeli's, Cole notes, are in "survival" mode.
Still, Israel has, through necessity, developed well defined and structured protocol for dealing with disasters, whether from terrorist or through acts of nature. In contrast, the United States is totally unprepared to deal with a major disaster as evidenced by the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Cole concludes that the Israeli experience with preparedness can offer valuable lessons to the United States.
I was struck while watching a recent episode of CSI, that, although in theory and on the television, Americans can coherently deal with disasters, in real life, there is no such methodology.
In writing this book, Cole also interviewed Palestinians, including those imprisoned handlers of suicide bombings. These people felt no remorse for their actions in killing innocent victims of their terror acts. Peace cannot come until all recognize and value each other.
Read: September 26, 2010.
I had the opportunity to meet the author, Leonard Cole in 2007, just at this book was about to be released. Cole is an expert in bioterrorism and terror medicine. In this book, he describes how terrorist attacks against Israel have affected the Israelis and how the Israelis have build in mechanisms to deal with the constant terror attacks against their country.
No country has experienced more terrorist attacks then Israel. As a result, Israel has developed innovative methods to respond to such attacks and threats of attacks. It is well known that the best trauma medicine in the world is being developed in Israeli hospitals.
Although there was a method to his madness, the author's narrative was not in chronological order, which made reading somewhat disorienting. Each chapter of the book discusses the effects of terror on different groups of people or events. There is a chapter on bus attacks, for instance, as well as families of terror attacks, and how doctors and nurses cope with treating terror victims. Israeli's, Cole notes, are in "survival" mode.
Still, Israel has, through necessity, developed well defined and structured protocol for dealing with disasters, whether from terrorist or through acts of nature. In contrast, the United States is totally unprepared to deal with a major disaster as evidenced by the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Cole concludes that the Israeli experience with preparedness can offer valuable lessons to the United States.
I was struck while watching a recent episode of CSI, that, although in theory and on the television, Americans can coherently deal with disasters, in real life, there is no such methodology.
In writing this book, Cole also interviewed Palestinians, including those imprisoned handlers of suicide bombings. These people felt no remorse for their actions in killing innocent victims of their terror acts. Peace cannot come until all recognize and value each other.
Read: September 26, 2010.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Books Set in the United States: Texas
Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (2006)
The Same Kind of Different as Me is the tale of two men ~ one a wealthy art collector and the other born a virtual slave in northern Louisiana. Their lives intersected in a most unusual way and changed both for the better.
Denver was born in the mid-1930s on a plantation in Red River Parish, Louisiana. Although slavery had been abolished, virtual slavery continued to thrive on the cotton plantations of the south. Denver and his family, (as well as other families working on the plantation) were kept down by The Man. Denver never attended school and never leaned to read. From the time he was a young boy, he worked in the field picking cotton.
One day when he was in his late 20s, he hopped a board a freight train and began live as a homeless drifter. He learned to survive on the streets and was often in violent altercations. In 1966, he was back in Louisiana and was sentenced to 10 years in Angola Prison. Angola has a reputation as being a very violent prison in Louisiana, and when Denver was there, it was particularly notorious.
After his release, he was still without means and ultimately found himself homeless in Ft. Worth, Texas. Enter Ron Hall.
Ron Hall was born into a lower-middle class family. After college and a stint as a banker, he discovered a talent as an art dealer. He soon “quit his day job” and embarked on a career as an art dealer ~ a decision that made him an international known and wealthy man.
Although not particularly religious, one evening he and his wife, Deborah, attended a “prayer meeting” filled with evangelists. Soon Deborah feels the call from God to work with the homeless. Ron initially joined her more to humor her than out of his own conviction. Deborah begins working at the Union Gospel Mission in downtown Ft. Worth serving food to the homeless.
Denver goes to the shelter for food, but he has no interest in making friends. Indeed, he is reluctant to speak to “Miss Debbie”, because the only other time he spoke to a white woman, he was nearly killed. Slowly, however, Deborah brings Denver out of his hard street-earned shell. Deborah has a vision that a homeless man will change the city. That man is the homeless, illiterate Denver.
Eventually Ron and Denver strike up a friendship. When Ron and Deborah’s daughter moves to Denver, Colorado, Ron asks Denver to transport her worldly goods to her new home. Denver is intrigued to have the opportunity to visit the city that bears his name. Although Ron gives Denver precise instructions on how to drive in his $40K vehicle, Denver still cannot read and has only recently gotten his driver’s license. Ron also gives Denver a fair amount of cash to cover expenses on the trip. After Denver embarks on his voyage, Ron begins to worry that Denver will simply drive off with the cash and goods.
For Denver, however, he is thrilled with the enormous trust that Ron has placed in him to take this trip. He takes his responsibility very seriously. After delivering the goods, he promptly returns to Ft. Worth and returns most of he money he was given for the trip back to Ron.
Things are going well for Denver, Ron and Deborah. One day, however, Denver tells Ron to watch out because something bad is about to happen to Deborah. Soon Deborah discovers that she has cancer. Although for the next year and a half, she is subjected to surgeries and chemotherapies, in the end, she loses her battle. She survives much longer than her doctors predict ~ in part, perhaps, because her family prays for her to continue to stay with them. Again, Denver, in his wisdom, tells Ron that they need to let her go to her heavenly home.
This reminded me of the story in Talmud about the death of Rabbi Judah ha Nasi. Rabbi Judah ha Nasi was very old and ill. The rabbis and his students were praying for him day and night as he lay on his death bed. His maid, however, knowing that his prayers were continuing to keep him alive while he was in agony and it was now his time of death, went up to the top of the roof and dropped a jar of water on them. This action stopped the praying for a moment ~ just enough time to allow the Angel of Death to come and let Judah ha Nasi die in peace.
This was the lesson that Denver brought to Ron. After Deborah’s death, Ron and Denver’s friendship was cemented. Today Denver is an artist in his own right and Ron sells some of his paintings.
Although there is a Christian motif in this book, it is not preachy. It is an inspirational and beautiful story of how people can positively influence others by their actions. Denver, despite his violent background, was essentially a good man. His actions speak to all of us.
Truly an amazing story. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
Read: September 17, 2010
The Same Kind of Different as Me is the tale of two men ~ one a wealthy art collector and the other born a virtual slave in northern Louisiana. Their lives intersected in a most unusual way and changed both for the better.
Denver was born in the mid-1930s on a plantation in Red River Parish, Louisiana. Although slavery had been abolished, virtual slavery continued to thrive on the cotton plantations of the south. Denver and his family, (as well as other families working on the plantation) were kept down by The Man. Denver never attended school and never leaned to read. From the time he was a young boy, he worked in the field picking cotton.
One day when he was in his late 20s, he hopped a board a freight train and began live as a homeless drifter. He learned to survive on the streets and was often in violent altercations. In 1966, he was back in Louisiana and was sentenced to 10 years in Angola Prison. Angola has a reputation as being a very violent prison in Louisiana, and when Denver was there, it was particularly notorious.
After his release, he was still without means and ultimately found himself homeless in Ft. Worth, Texas. Enter Ron Hall.
Ron Hall was born into a lower-middle class family. After college and a stint as a banker, he discovered a talent as an art dealer. He soon “quit his day job” and embarked on a career as an art dealer ~ a decision that made him an international known and wealthy man.
Although not particularly religious, one evening he and his wife, Deborah, attended a “prayer meeting” filled with evangelists. Soon Deborah feels the call from God to work with the homeless. Ron initially joined her more to humor her than out of his own conviction. Deborah begins working at the Union Gospel Mission in downtown Ft. Worth serving food to the homeless.
Denver goes to the shelter for food, but he has no interest in making friends. Indeed, he is reluctant to speak to “Miss Debbie”, because the only other time he spoke to a white woman, he was nearly killed. Slowly, however, Deborah brings Denver out of his hard street-earned shell. Deborah has a vision that a homeless man will change the city. That man is the homeless, illiterate Denver.
Eventually Ron and Denver strike up a friendship. When Ron and Deborah’s daughter moves to Denver, Colorado, Ron asks Denver to transport her worldly goods to her new home. Denver is intrigued to have the opportunity to visit the city that bears his name. Although Ron gives Denver precise instructions on how to drive in his $40K vehicle, Denver still cannot read and has only recently gotten his driver’s license. Ron also gives Denver a fair amount of cash to cover expenses on the trip. After Denver embarks on his voyage, Ron begins to worry that Denver will simply drive off with the cash and goods.
For Denver, however, he is thrilled with the enormous trust that Ron has placed in him to take this trip. He takes his responsibility very seriously. After delivering the goods, he promptly returns to Ft. Worth and returns most of he money he was given for the trip back to Ron.
Things are going well for Denver, Ron and Deborah. One day, however, Denver tells Ron to watch out because something bad is about to happen to Deborah. Soon Deborah discovers that she has cancer. Although for the next year and a half, she is subjected to surgeries and chemotherapies, in the end, she loses her battle. She survives much longer than her doctors predict ~ in part, perhaps, because her family prays for her to continue to stay with them. Again, Denver, in his wisdom, tells Ron that they need to let her go to her heavenly home.
This reminded me of the story in Talmud about the death of Rabbi Judah ha Nasi. Rabbi Judah ha Nasi was very old and ill. The rabbis and his students were praying for him day and night as he lay on his death bed. His maid, however, knowing that his prayers were continuing to keep him alive while he was in agony and it was now his time of death, went up to the top of the roof and dropped a jar of water on them. This action stopped the praying for a moment ~ just enough time to allow the Angel of Death to come and let Judah ha Nasi die in peace.
This was the lesson that Denver brought to Ron. After Deborah’s death, Ron and Denver’s friendship was cemented. Today Denver is an artist in his own right and Ron sells some of his paintings.
Although there is a Christian motif in this book, it is not preachy. It is an inspirational and beautiful story of how people can positively influence others by their actions. Denver, despite his violent background, was essentially a good man. His actions speak to all of us.
Truly an amazing story. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
Read: September 17, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Books Set in Medieval Europe: Rome
Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross (1999)
Was there a female Pope in the mid-800s? Donna Woolfolk Cross assumes so in her historical novel, Pope Joan.
Historical evidence is scarce to support either the existence or non-existence of a female Pope. If she existed, she would have ruled as Pope John VII. Cross’s research revealed that there exists an ancient copy of a document entitled Liber pontificalis which purports to provide a biography of the lives of the early popes. Although it references the existence of Pope “Joan”, it was apparently added many years after the original text was composed. The current position of the Catholic Church denies her existence.
At any rate, Pope Joan is a tale of medieval life in Europe and the restrictions placed on the average person, especially the women. At this period of time (9th Century), it was not uncommon for the clergy to take wives, although the practice was frown upon and hinder one’s elevation in Church hierarchy.
Since there is virtually know recorded history of Joan, the author creates a life for her, beginning with her birth in 814. Joan is the daughter of a cleric and his Viking wife. Her mother, Gudrun, was captured during a raid and forced to marry the cleric who felt it his duty to “convert” her from her heathen ways. Despite this, Gudrun would often tell Joan stories of her Norse gods ~ stories that would result in a beating from her husband.
Joan had two brothers; Matthew who was intelligent and headed for a life in the Church, and John who was clearly not a scholar and longed to become a warrior. Matthew secretly taught Joan how to read. Since her father despised Joan, when he learned that she could read, he beat her nearly to death. She bore the scars on her back for the rest of her life.
This didn’t deter Joan from her pursuit of knowledge. She was determined not to fall into the same life that was destined to her beloved mother. A nearby clergyman learned of Joan’s desires and offered to tutor her. When duty called him to another location, he gave her a book and promised to find another teacher for her. Joan and her brother, John, are sent off to a school far from home. (Matthew had died from an illness and their father decided that John would take his place in the church.)
The school provided Joan relief from her brutal father, but was ridiculed by her classmates. She is taken under the wing of Gerold, an older married man, with children Joan’s age. Gerold was in a loveless marriage and the two form a fast friendship. While Gerold is away, Vikings come and destroy the village and school. Joan is one of the few survivors. Seeing her brother, John, lying dead, she decides to become her brother and join a monastery.
She lives quietly in the monastery as a man for many years. She becomes knowledgeable in medicine. Ultimately, she finds herself in Rome and is serving in the Vatican. Her knowledge and compassion is well known and after the death of Pope Leo, she is surprisingly elected Pope.
Before becoming Pope, however, Gerold appears in Rome. He recognizes Joan and the two pickup their friendship. He tries to convince Joan to discard her disguise and become his wife. She refuses, knowing that she could not begin living as a woman with all the societal restrictions placed women.
Spoiler Alert: After Joan becomes Pope, there is a tragic flood throughout the city. Joan and Gerold find themselves alone in a distant part of the city. They cannot contain their passion. Again, Gerold tries to convince Joan to run away with him, saying that since everyone thinks the Pope has died in the flood, no one would be the wiser. Joan, however, has a strong sense of duty and cannot leave the Papacy. As luck would have it, after their one sexual encounter, Joan becomes pregnant. She considers her options, but decides to go ahead with the birth. Legends surrounding Pope Joan have her dying in childbirth in the Via Sacra. Cross stays true to legend.
Pope Joan was in interesting book, but not one I would read again.
Read: September 13, 2010
Was there a female Pope in the mid-800s? Donna Woolfolk Cross assumes so in her historical novel, Pope Joan.
Historical evidence is scarce to support either the existence or non-existence of a female Pope. If she existed, she would have ruled as Pope John VII. Cross’s research revealed that there exists an ancient copy of a document entitled Liber pontificalis which purports to provide a biography of the lives of the early popes. Although it references the existence of Pope “Joan”, it was apparently added many years after the original text was composed. The current position of the Catholic Church denies her existence.
At any rate, Pope Joan is a tale of medieval life in Europe and the restrictions placed on the average person, especially the women. At this period of time (9th Century), it was not uncommon for the clergy to take wives, although the practice was frown upon and hinder one’s elevation in Church hierarchy.
Since there is virtually know recorded history of Joan, the author creates a life for her, beginning with her birth in 814. Joan is the daughter of a cleric and his Viking wife. Her mother, Gudrun, was captured during a raid and forced to marry the cleric who felt it his duty to “convert” her from her heathen ways. Despite this, Gudrun would often tell Joan stories of her Norse gods ~ stories that would result in a beating from her husband.
Joan had two brothers; Matthew who was intelligent and headed for a life in the Church, and John who was clearly not a scholar and longed to become a warrior. Matthew secretly taught Joan how to read. Since her father despised Joan, when he learned that she could read, he beat her nearly to death. She bore the scars on her back for the rest of her life.
This didn’t deter Joan from her pursuit of knowledge. She was determined not to fall into the same life that was destined to her beloved mother. A nearby clergyman learned of Joan’s desires and offered to tutor her. When duty called him to another location, he gave her a book and promised to find another teacher for her. Joan and her brother, John, are sent off to a school far from home. (Matthew had died from an illness and their father decided that John would take his place in the church.)
The school provided Joan relief from her brutal father, but was ridiculed by her classmates. She is taken under the wing of Gerold, an older married man, with children Joan’s age. Gerold was in a loveless marriage and the two form a fast friendship. While Gerold is away, Vikings come and destroy the village and school. Joan is one of the few survivors. Seeing her brother, John, lying dead, she decides to become her brother and join a monastery.
She lives quietly in the monastery as a man for many years. She becomes knowledgeable in medicine. Ultimately, she finds herself in Rome and is serving in the Vatican. Her knowledge and compassion is well known and after the death of Pope Leo, she is surprisingly elected Pope.
Before becoming Pope, however, Gerold appears in Rome. He recognizes Joan and the two pickup their friendship. He tries to convince Joan to discard her disguise and become his wife. She refuses, knowing that she could not begin living as a woman with all the societal restrictions placed women.
Spoiler Alert: After Joan becomes Pope, there is a tragic flood throughout the city. Joan and Gerold find themselves alone in a distant part of the city. They cannot contain their passion. Again, Gerold tries to convince Joan to run away with him, saying that since everyone thinks the Pope has died in the flood, no one would be the wiser. Joan, however, has a strong sense of duty and cannot leave the Papacy. As luck would have it, after their one sexual encounter, Joan becomes pregnant. She considers her options, but decides to go ahead with the birth. Legends surrounding Pope Joan have her dying in childbirth in the Via Sacra. Cross stays true to legend.
Pope Joan was in interesting book, but not one I would read again.
Read: September 13, 2010
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