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SCRIBE
The Story of the Only Female Pope
The monastery at Siani was famous throughout the academic world for its library. The monks of medieval days routinely obtained ancient, crumbling manuscripts and recopied them. Among them, hidden in a wall in the cellar, the following parchment was found and faithfully recopied in the practiced hand of the Sianian monks several centuries after its original writing:
“According to the official Catalogue of Popes, after the Holy Father Leo IV died in the Year of Our Lord, Eight hundred fifty-five, he was succeeded by Pope Benedict III. I Martin Paschal, swear upon my eternal soul that the Catalogue lies. Leo died on the twentieth day of June, eight hundred fifty-four, and to him succeeded John, who was a woman, who sat on the Papal Throne for two years, five months, and four days…”
This is not the first time the sensational enigma of the legendary female Pope has been explored, but this version is different from all others in that it treats its characters with the seriousness and depth they deserve, while telling an epic story of Europe in the throes of birth in the darkest of the Dark Ages.
SCRIBE – HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE
While I was helping to edit Gary Jennings’ Raptor, I noted he had written a few words about the legendary female Pope Joan in passing. One day, I asked him, “Do you really think Pope Joan ever existed?” “No,” he replied. “Probably just a figment of someone’s overfertile imagination.” Although Gary and I talked about the possibility of co-writing a novel based on Pope Joan, the idea never went anywhere.
Gary was finishing Raptor and would soon start on his last book, Aztec Autumn,” which he dedicated to me for “brotherliness immeasurable.” When he asked me how I felt about this surprise, our friendship was so rock-solid that I could – and did -- honestly respond, “You wrote four of the best books I ever read in my life, and then you dedicate this piece of s**t to me? How brotherly is that?” We had a good laugh about that and he blamed his editor (which was not me because I didn’t even know he was writing it).
Less than a year later, Gary Jennings, my beloved friend and one of the greatest authors I’d ever read, was dead.
I thought back to my discussions with Gary about writing the Pope Joan book. As I read other novels about the female Pope, particularly Emmanuel Royidis’ Pope Joan, which had been rewritten by Lawrence Durrell, and the then-quite-popular Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross, I thought, “If done right and done seriously and not as a cartoon, there’s no reason why this book couldn’t take off.”
Scribe was as carefully and thoroughly researched as any book I’d ever considered – among other things, a “nice Jewish author” had to learn everything he possibly could about the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Middle Ages.
As I continued researching and then started to write Scribe, I came up with what, to me, seemed an even better idea: Gary Jennings had written Raptor, which took place in the early Sixth Century (476-525 A.D.) and The Journeyer celebrated the life of Marco Polo (1254-1324), roughly the Thirteenth Century. Halfway between the two – the Ninth Century – was about the time that Pope Joan was reputed to have lived – if, in fact she ever lived. The Ninth Century was truly the darkest period of the Dark Ages – when the civilization of the Roman Empire was barely a remote memory and when Europe, and civilization, had “shut down.” What a perfect time to let my imagination soar!
What if I were to use Pope Joan as a central fulcrum around which the tale revolved, while, at the same time, using that character to anchor a “Grand Tour of the Middle Ages in Europe?”
And that is exactly what happened, with the addition of a surprising but true element: while the rest of Europe was dark, Ireland kept the light of civilization burning!
Through an incredibly surprising and happy circumstance, when at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair, Editorial Estampa, Portugal’s premier publisher, bought the rights to translate the book into Portuguese and publish it in Portugal.
The following year, Lorraine and I traveled to Lisbon to introduce the book to that wonderful land. We met with Antonio Manso-Pinheiro, the founder of Editorial Estampa and former president of the Portuguese Publishers’ Association. Alas, Senhor Pinheiro, as charming a man as ever lived, had contracted the cancer that was to kill him shortly thereafter. That year, Scribe, which was one of the last books Pinheiro published, shot to #2 on the Portuguese Best Seller list!!!
To say I was beyond astonished is an understatement of the first magnitude. When I told me beloved Lorraine that the book had gone to #2 and that I was now confirmed as an international best-selling author, her curt remark brought me crashing back to reality. “Don’t get so big-headed and self-important. You’re not a best-selling author, you’re only a second-best selling author!”
Is there truly any wonder why, after more than 3½ decades together, she is still the center of my universe?
SCRIBE-AMAZON COMMENTS
These are genuine reviews from Amazon.com. Names and email addresses have been deleted to protect the privacy rights of those who were kind enough to write in, but feel free to visit Amazon.com to see the originals of these reviews. Thank you. – Hugh
**** One author’s take on history. I've been fascinated about the story of the only female pope but reluctant to slog through a possibly weighty historical tome just to get the basic information. This author decided to turn it into a novel with plenty of interesting characters and detail. Except for a small stretch mid-story where it bogged down a bit, I for the most part, really enjoyed the read. – March 2012
***** Love this version. Fantastic story and well written! I also really like the version that was made into a movie, but the Scribe seemed more realistic (most of it) than the other stories out there. Especially how she gained so much knowledge and rapport by traveling all over Europe and meeting other people of very high intelligence. – September 2012
***** Scribe. The story was very interesting but there is nothing to indicate that it is a part of real history. It doesn't leave you with anything to evaluate as being factural. – January 2013
*****A good story. I have three books on pope joan. Can you imagine a female pope. What a mess for the church that forbids women to give mass. – November 2012
** Disappointing. I am having a hard time slogging through this and may not finish it. It moves slowly which would be ok if there were a richness of language or detail, or development of character and plot, but there isn't. Also it seems to be far more fiction than historical. I may be wrong on that, but I've read a couple biographies of Pope Joan, and though I know her whole story may be fiction This strays far from what I'd already read. – November 2012
***** Fascinating premise. Fascinating premise. With all its scandals this religion seems to have had, it almost seems plausible. Great story, well written. I will find something else to read by this author. – May 2011
***** Another page turner. I've only recently discovered Gerstl's work. First, "Against All Odds" which I couldn't put down. Then, "The Politics of Hate" which ought to be a basis for questions during the upcoming debates. Now, "Scribe". This last is another that captured my time from start to finish. Gerstl's time as a boffo author is here and I can't wait for his next one. The Pope Joan of "Scribe" was brilliant, forceful and warm. One might wish there were another like her now in the wings. Keep going Hugo - I can't wait. – August 2012
***** A true page-turner at its finest. Scribe is the epitome of a wonderfully built, exciting, and engaging page turner. With each chapter, nay, with each page, the author crafts another means by which the reader questions what will happen next. Will other pieces to the puzzle be found? Who really is...and was telling the truth all these centuries? And by what means could such a secret have been hidden, and then uncovered over so many years? Hugo Gerstl amazingly envelopes the reader with each twist and turn, into what proves to truthfully be a mysterious and dramatic story that one won't want to, and can't put down. – June 2011
***** Who would have thought the Pope would be the girl of my dreams? Pope Joan is brave, brilliant and sexy. Hugo Gerstl breathes life into a subject that has been explored before. BUT !!! he does it in his own unique style. Scribe is a fascinating look at the Middle Ages and a topic that has been kicked around by scholars for hundreds of years. Throw your pre-conceived notions about the Papacy out the window and settle back for a roller coaster ride through a turbulent time. – May 2011
***** Scribe Review. Mr. Gerstl's Scribe, makes the age-old question, "Was there a female Pope?" real. His page turner has us traipsing the roads of Europe never really sure where we will end up nor what will happen. His many historic insights and research to get things right are appreciated. Was she real? You find out. – November 2013
***** Unique Topic. As an avid reader of historical fiction, I found the premise for this book intriguing, and was fascinated by the development of the plot. The politics of the church at that time leaves much room for exploration and invention, and I thought the author did an excellent job of expanding the idea with interest. – May 2011
***** Wonderful Read. This is not the first time that the sensational enigma of the legendary female Pope has been explored, but this version is different from all others in that it treats its characters with the seriousness and depth they deserve, while telling an epic story of a Europe in the throes of birth in the darkest of the Dark Ages. – May 2011
