Entertaining and thought-provoking medieval story
A chance exploration of a streetside shrine in Rome leads journalist Stanford to pursue the story of a female pope. Stanford makes an intriguing case for the historical truth of what has long been seen as cautionary tale emphasizing the corruptibility of women. I'm not convinced by his arguments for a true historical Pope Joan, but he's presented a lot of research and historical fact in an amusingly painless read. Imagine Peter Mayle leaving Provence to turn historical detective and you've got a feel for this book!