Product Description

A novel about a humble fisherman who is elected as the next pope. The authors are a former US Ambassador to the Vatican and the author of "The French Connection".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1054056 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Customer Reviews

Read Frederick Rolfe's Hadrian VII instead
I found this book on offer for £1.99 and thought I'd give it a go, interested as I am in papal and church history and ever anxious for a good novel. How disappointed I was... this is the only book I have ever left half unread, and even by this point I found it hard to carry on. Generally the language is at best facile, and the dialogue puerile to the point of distraction. I must admit I skipped to the end to see what happened to the 'first American pope' and (without giving away the story) was distinctly unaffected by what should have been the awful climax. As for the story... Frederick Rolfe did a much better job (using wonderfully evocative language) in his book Hadrian VII. In the books defence it does appear well researched and the idea of a pope elected by accident is an interesting situation which almost occurred in reality in 1513 and again in 1559.