Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against the medieval social strictures forbidding women to learn to read and write. When her brother is killed during a Viking attack, Joan takes up his cloak and identity and goes to the monastery of Fulda to be initiated into the brotherhood. As Brother John Anglicus, Joan distinguishes herself as a great Christian scholar. Eventually she is drawn to Rome, where she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous web of love, passion, and politics. Triumphing over appalling odds, she finally attains the highest office in Christendom, wielding a power greater than any woman before or since. But such power comes with a price...Pope Joan vividly recreates life during the Dark Ages, while painting a portrait of an unforgettable woman.“Has all the elements one wants in a historical drama—love, sex, violence, duplicity and long-buried secrets.” –Los Angeles Times“A fascinating and moving account of a woman's determination to learn despite the opposition of family and society…Highly recommended”--Library Journal"...Explores the extraordinary life of an independent, intelligent and courageous woman who overcomes oppression and ascends to the highest religious power."--San Francisco Chronicle