MISTRESS OF THE VATICAN - The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope

In English. Hard cover+jacket, 22 cm, 404 pp., ill.; net weight 680 gr.

"We have just elected a female Pope," opined Cardinal Alessandro Bichi in 1644, and for 11 years after, Olimpia Maidalchini, sister-in-law and reputed mistress of the indecisive Pope Innocent X, directed Vatican business, appointed cardinals, negotiated with foreign ambassadors, and helped herself to a heaping portion of the Papal State's treasury. And, as the author points out here, unlike the enigmatic 9th-century Pope Joan, Olimpia's story is documented in thousands of letters, news sheets, and diplomatic dispatches. Eleanor Herman gives us not only Donna Olimpia's career, but also a startling portrait of 17th-century Rome, where kleptomania was rampant and a pope's dead body might be left naked, stripped by his own servants. "Born into a family of average means, Maidalchini rebelled successfully against her father's plans to place her in a convent. This early triumph gave her a will that she'd eventually use to grab the ultimate seat of power in 17th-century Italy, the Papacy, through the likely accomplice of her indecisive brother-in-law, a lawyer with holy orders who was dazzled by Maidalchini's intelligence, planning and accounting capabilities. He submitted to her plans, and she eventually ushered him into power as Pope Innocent X. As her wealth and strength grow, so does the resentment around her, but her fate would be sealed by the bubonic plague. Exhaustively researched, with historical vignettes interwoven seamlessly, Herman's latest provides a window into an age of empire, nepotism and intrigue that rivals any novel for fascinating reading."— Publishers Weekly (starred review).

.

.

================================================

IMPORTANT: The shipping cost in not included in the price. You will have to approve it at confirmation of the order.