Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope

by Eleanor Herman

Overview

Eleanor Herman, the talented author of the New York Times bestselling Sex with Kings and Sex with the Queen goes behind the sacred doors of the Catholic Church in Mistress of the Vatican, a scintillating biography of a powerful yet little-known woman whose remarkable story is ripe with secrets, sex, passion, and ambition. For almost four centuries this astonishing story of a woman’s absolute power over the Vatican has been successfully buried—until now.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061827419
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/13/2009
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	775,203
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Eleanor Herman is the New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings, Sex with the Queen, and several other works of popular history. She has hosted Lost Worlds for The History Channel, The Madness of Henry VIII for the National Geographic Channel, and is now filming her second season of America: Fact vs. Fiction for The American Heroes Channel.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction     1
The Girl From Viterbo
The Convent     9
The Wealthy Landowner's Wife     29
The Roman Noblewoman     38
The Brother-in-Law     52
The Papal Nuncio     66
Cardinals     78
The Black Widow     98
Conclave     117
The Female Pope
The Vicar of Christ     137
Celebrations     149
Women in the Vatican     161
Vengeance on the Barberinis     179
The Despised Daughter-in-Law     196
The Imbecile Cardinals     209
Birth, Famine, and Bitter Peace     223
The Shoulder of Saint Francesca     237
The Holy Jubilee Year     257
Crisis of Conscience     274
Unforgiveness
Honor and Dishonor     293
Olimpia's Triumphant Return     311
The Sudden Disgrace of Cardinal Astalli     331
Death of the Dove     348
Unforgiveness     365
Pope Alexander VII     372
The Two Queens of Rome     384
The Scourge of God     395
After Olimpia     409
Notes     421
Bibliography     433
Index     439

Editorial Reviews

Starred Review.

In this engrossing "forgotten story" of the Vatican, Herman (Sex with the Queen) relays not only the life of 17th Cenutry Papal puppet-master Olimpia Maidalchini, but the political and social history of her age, including glimpses of art and architecture, family relations, medical care, religious traditions and daily life. 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 the 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.
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Publishers Weekly

Herman (Sex with the Queen, 2006, etc.) does her royal best with the fantastic story of a tax collector's daughter from Viterbo who finagled her way into a position of power at the Vatican. The author constantly hammers home her central point: that the driving force of Olimpia Maidalchini's life (1591-1657) was her stingy father's attempt to put her in a convent rather than provide a dowry for a suitable marriage. Her two younger sisters submitted to this fate, but 15-year-old Olimpia refused and wrote a damning letter to the Bishop of Viterbo (fathers were not supposed to coerce daughters into taking the veil). Despite the ensuing scandal, she managed to marry into a poor but well-connected noble family, the Pamphilis of Rome. Her keen memory and knowledge of financial matters soon ingratiated her with sober, learned brother-in-law Gianbattista, a monsignor who increasingly came to rely on Olimpia's decisiveness and guidance in his work at the Vatican courts. Her behind-the-scenes machinations bore fruit when Urban VIII made Gianbattista a cardinal in 1627. Twelve years later, the death of her husband left 48-year-old Olimpia a widow who didn't have to answer to anyone. Upon Urban's demise in 1644, her skillful manipulation of power achieved her life's goal: the election of Gianbattista as Pope Innocent X. His devotion to his sister-in-law allowed her carte blanche in his apartments and free rein in filling her coffers, until her overweening ambition and some powerful enemies caught up with her. Herman nimbly navigates centuries of foggy papal history, providing plenty of gossip and slander about flagrant nepotism and other pontifical sins. She casts Olimpia's story appropriatelyenough in soap-opera terms, making her feisty protagonist resemble (a bit improbably) a 17th-century Scarlett O'Hara. The incredible life of a formidable woman, fetchingly told.

Kirkus Reviews

...immensely readable and compelling...An expert on—and descendant of—European royal families, she skillfully uses letters, diaries, newssheets of the time, and biographies to tell this personal tale, set during unforgiving times. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher