Pope Joan (Ballantine Reader's Circle) - Softcover

"Excerpts from reviews of Donna Woolfolk Cross' Pope Joan" "No one knows for sure if Pope Joan, or Pope John Anglicus as she called herself, really existed.--After finishing Donna Cross' novelization of Joan's life, one may want her to be a real person, only because it is so gratifying to read about those rare heroes whose strength of vision enables them to ignore the almost overpowering messages of their own historical periods." --" Los Angeles Times Book Review" "A remarkable woman uses her considerable intellect--and more than a little luck--to rise from humble origins to become the only female Pope, in this breakneck adventure from newcomer Cross." --" Kirkus Reviews" "--Cross' drama draws predictable conclusions about the way a woman might handle power, but given the certain punishment that awaits Joan should anyone discover her secret, this cross-dressing saga is also a page turner." --" Glamour" "In her first novel, Donna Woolfolk Cross--illuminates the Dark Ages and its attendant milieu of barbarism, politics, bigotry, and religion. "Pope Joan" also is a story of passion and faith--and a reminder that something never change, only the stage and the players do." --" Morning Star Telegram" "Cross succeeds admirably, grounding her fast-moving tale in a wealth of rich historical detail. If Joan wasn't pope, she should have been." --" Orlando Sentinel" "A fascinating and moving account of a woman's determination to learn despite the opposition of family and society. Highly recommended." --"Library Journal" (starred review)

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 to Syracuse, New York, with her husband and began teaching in the English department at an upstate New York college. She is the author of two books on language, Word Abuse and Mediaspeak, and coauthor of Speaking of Words. The product of seven years of research and