BC Consensus: Pope Joan

Would you like to crème de la crème from our book club dicussions this month? You are in luck! In November, we read Donna Cross's Pope Joan. Here are some of the comments our members made about the book:

“I don't think I've ever read a book set so early in history, or even imagined what it was like back in the 800s. It was difficult to read about Joan's early life, her father and his unbending ideas, how he treated his wife and his family while undoubtedly thinking he was in the right. Then I watched Joan struggle to be an educated woman and how few people stood behind her. I couldn't even imagine it and it made me think how blessed we are to be women now. I cheered for Joan when she made the transition to John and thought about how brave she must have been all those years to constantly be on guard of who she really was. Donna Cross is an excellent storyteller and her timing was perfect.”

“I appreciated how Donna included the Latin phrases in the book without it seeming to be "dumbed down" for the reader. The explanations, when there were any, were woven well into the story and the ones I don't remember understanding didn't detract me from the story. I am really glad someone suggested this book and that we all got to know Joan a little better. I'll definitely be recommending this book.” +/-

“I would have never read this book (or heard of it) without this book club. So thanks to you all. The beginning of it was so dark and miserable that I really had to make myself keep reading. Thankfully, Joan's life gets easier--not easier, just a lot less miserable--as the book progresses. Then it got fascinating.”

We were able to have an online chat with the author, Donna Cross. She offers this to any group that would like to participate (usually by conference call). Please visit her website for details.

Pope Joan by Donna W. Cross

Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher, Year: Ballantine Books, 1997
Flags: Adult themes, Tenuous references
Rating: A or Great Read
Premise: A woman, incognito, ascends to the highest office in Christendom.

I picked up this book when my husband and I wanted to some of quality time with the bookstore. It was on the bestseller’s rack, so I gave it a shot. After the first chapter, I was hooked and had to have it. There is a small paragraph not too far in where Joan describes her mother’s beautiful Saxon blond hair. She said it spilled over the blanket like rich cream. (Not word-for-word, but close.) I don’t know why, but that phrase stuck with me, along with many other superbly written descriptions.

Joan is born to a German canon father and a Saxon mother, whose incompatibilities blare from the page within the first scene, along with her father’s intense sexism, something we learn is not uncommon for the time. And that time is, none other than the Dark Ages. And if “dark” stands for evil cynicism, than that would be an apt description as portrayed by this novel. We follow Joan in her growth from a little girl to an impressionable teenager to an “older” woman (by the Dark’s standards). She shows a keen interest and talent for learning early in her life, but unfortunately, learning is not a woman’s activity at that time. As fate would have it, Joan unexpectedly gets her chance to break free of societal constraints—by taking on the identity of a man. Because of her complex intelligence and progressive thought, Joan soon finds herself in the highest position she could aspire to, and she finds that taking on that responsibility will be her greatest joy as well as her most grievous pain. +/-

I enjoyed almost every moment in this novel. It was cruel and unfair, and in some parts gruesome (all characteristics of the lovely Dark Ages), but I still found so many redeeming qualities of this unbelievable story. Although based on a legend, I find the thought that such a woman could have lived to be an inviting concept. One that I want to believe in.

The author did a beautiful job of weaving together the elements of Joan’s life in a way that was both entertaining and meaningful. There was so much research that went into this novel, and that fact shines through so convincingly. At moments where with some other historical fiction authors I would have been rolling my eyes and wondering which was fact and which fiction, I was instead completely drawn in and not even having to try to suspend my disbelief.

As Joan grows in wisdom and begins to see her destiny shaping in front of her, she meets with some tough choices, and quite honestly, some of those choices are not far from many that women make today. Joan was wedged between two very different worlds, each pulling her in a different direction. She had to make sacrifices that were heavy to carry: she was stuck between her sense of duty and her heart’s secret longings. And for some reason, these two had to sit as separate weights in the balance. It’s a tough thing, I think, to prioritize sometimes. One of those sides had to consume the other; there was no other alternative for her. Most often, I think that’s a tragedy. A woman should not have to choose between passions—a person should not have to choose between them.

This book brings up a lot of interesting issues, the most prominent of course is that endlessly battled question: What is the right place for a woman in society? The thing I liked about Cross’s book is that she doesn’t try to answer this question, really. At least, I didn’t think so. Instead, she puts it out there, and uses Joan as an example. And then she asks, “So what about that?” And I don’t think she expects our reaction to be black or white, but instead some version of grey. Perhaps a different shade for every woman who has lived. =) At least, I think that’s a very comforting thought.

Overall, I really liked this book. I'm not sure it's one I would recommend for everyone, but I think it's a significant piece of historical fiction, in its own right.

*As a side note: Donna Cross has offered to do phone conferences with any book groups who’d like to. All you have to do is go to her website and fill out a form to get a time set up! And then she will contact you. Our book group is online, so we worked out a way for our members to chat with her online! It was a wonderful experience, and if your book group reads this book, I highly recommend doing it! It was a big hit.

BC About the Author: Donna W. Cross

Donna Woolfolk Cross graduated cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969 with a B.A. in English. She moved to London, England, after graduation, and worked as an editorial assistant for a small publishing house on Fleet Street, W.H. Allen and Company.

Upon her return to the United States, Cross worked at Young and Rubicam, a Madison Avenue advertising firm, before going on to graduate school at UCLA where she earned a master's degree in Literature and Writing in 1972. In 1973, Cross moved with her husband to upstate New York where she began teaching writing in a college English Department. Now writing is her fulltime career. +/-

She is the author of two books on language, Word Abuse: How the Words We Use Use Us and Mediaspeak: How Television Makes Up Your Mind. She is the coauthor of Speaking of Words and Daddy's Little Girl. The product of seven years of research and writing, Pope Joan is her first novel. She is now at work on a new novel set in 17th century France.

Visit her website here.

BC Discussion ?s: Pope Joan

For the month of November, we read Donna W. Cross's Pope Joan. The following are the discussion questions we used:

1. How important is it to this story to believe in its historicity? Are there lessons to be learned from Joan’s story whether it’s legend or fact?

2. Are reason and faith incompatible? What do you make of Aesculapius’s argument that lack of faith leads people to fear reason?

3. What causes Joan’s inner conflict between faith and doubt? How do these conflicts affect the decisions she makes? Does she ever resolve these conflicts?

4. Joan sacrificed much because she loved Gerold. Do you know women who have sacrificed opportunities for love (spouse, child, etc.)? Are such sacrifices justified? +/-

5. If Joan had agreed to leave with Gerold when he first came to Rome, what would her life have been like? What do you think of her choice?

6. What causes any society to oppress womankind? What are the root causes of misogyny? Are they based in religion or in society? Both? Neither?

7. Why might medieval society have believed so strongly that education hampered a woman’s ability to bear children? What purpose might such a belief serve?

8. What similarities or differences do you see between Pope Joan and Saint Joan of Arc? Why was one Joan expunged from history books and the other made a saint?