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Papal history without pomp, circumstance, or spirituality--as chilly novelist Condon (Prizzi's Honor, etc.) details the largely factual 1390-1415 story of Baldassare Cossa, a soldier/pimp/entrepreneur who became mercenary Pope John XXIII. . . and the fatalistic, much-betrayed pawn of rising banker Cosimo di Medici. The off-and-on narrator here is Franco Ellera, Jewish slave to the Cossas, a pirate-family of Naples; and when young Cossa is sent off to Bologna to begin studies for a lawyer/prelate career, Franco goes along as sidekick. But, while rising in academia and Bologna politics, Cossa also pursues his other life--as rake, pimp, thief (stealing a hoard of Papal gold), soldier-of-fortune. An atheist who has never taken holy orders, he becomes a cardinal largely because of his battlefield triumphs in fending off the current pope's enemies. And along the amorous way (317 conquests, not including courtesans), Cossa falls madly in love with two women: Catherine Visconti, wife of the Duke of Milan; and Decima Manovale--the super-courtesan who, working for the Medici Bank, uses her four daughters as bedroom diplomats and plots Cossa's way to the Papacy (as a ""conciliar"" pope to end the church's great Schism, an alternative to the feuding Rome/Avignon pontiffs). With slangy anachronisms and utter cynicism, Condon sometimes offers a bouncy--if only half-convincing--picture of the Church as Mafia. And he does manage to digest large chunks of complex Church-in-Schism history. But no one here, including ruthless-yet-passive Cossa, is even roughly sympathetic; the melodramatic episodes (some purely fictional) get lost amid all the historical detail; and, though free of the verbose stateliness usually found in pope novels, this lowdown, relatively breezy chronicle is more intriguingly informative than richly entertaining.
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- PublisherSheridan Book Company
- Publication date1998
- ISBN 10 1855015722
- ISBN 13 9781855015722
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
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A Trembling Upon Rome
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Sheridan Book Company
(1998)
ISBN 10: 1855015722
ISBN 13: 9781855015722
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.4. Seller Inventory # G1855015722I5N00
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A Trembling Upon Rome
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR004212877
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A Trembling Upon Rome
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Fair. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. Seller Inventory # GOR004332083
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A Trembling Upon Rome
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Book Description paperback. Condition: Good. All orders are dispatched within one working day from our UK warehouse. We've been selling books online since 2004! We have over 750,000 books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. Seller Inventory # mon0006722653
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A Trembling Upon Rome
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Book Description Condition: good. Befriedigend/Good: Durchschnittlich erhaltenes Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit Gebrauchsspuren, aber vollständigen Seiten. / Describes the average WORN book or dust jacket that has all the pages present. Seller Inventory # M01855015722-G
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Book Description Condition: Very Good. 1713355112. 4/17/2024 11:58:32 AM. Seller Inventory # U9781855015722
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. 0 pages. Cover wornDark satire about the piratical anti-Pope of 14th Century Rome. Seller Inventory # 3330p
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A Trembling Upon Rome
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. 292 pages. Cover wornPapal history without pomp, circumstance , or spirituality--as chilly novelist Condon (Prizzi's Honor, etc .) details the largely factual 1390-1415 story of Baldassare Coss a, a soldier/pimp/entrepreneur who became mercenary Pope John XXI II. . . and the fatalistic, much-betrayed pawn of rising banker C osimo di Medici. The off-and-on narrator here is Franco Ellera, J ewish slave to the Cossas, a pirate-family of Naples; and when yo ung Cossa is sent off to Bologna to begin studies for a lawyer/pr elate career, Franco goes along as sidekick. But, while rising in academia and Bologna politics, Cossa also pursues his other life --as rake, pimp, thief (stealing a hoard of Papal gold), soldier- of-fortune. An atheist who has never taken holy orders, he become s a cardinal largely because of his battlefield triumphs in fendi ng off the current pope's enemies. And along the amorous way (317 conquests, not including courtesans), Cossa falls madly in love with two women: Catherine Visconti, wife of the Duke of Milan; an d Decima Manovale--the super-courtesan who, working for the Medic i Bank, uses her four daughters as bedroom diplomats and plots Co ssa's way to the Papacy (as a conciliar pope to end the church's great Schism, an alternative to the feuding Rome/Avignon pontiffs ). With slangy anachronisms and utter cynicism, Condon sometimes offers a bouncy--if only half-convincing--picture of the Church a s Mafia. And he does manage to digest large chunks of complex Chu rch-in-Schism history. But no one here, including ruthless-yet-pa ssive Cossa, is even roughly sympathetic; the melodramatic episod es (some purely fictional) get lost amid all the historical detai l; and, though free of the verbose stateliness usually found in p ope novels, this lowdown, relatively breezy chronicle is more int riguingly informative than richly entertaining. Seller Inventory # 1222m
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Fine. Reprint. 292 pages. Book appears to have hardly been read and is in Fine condition throughout. Lust, Greed, Murder, Corruption. Seller Inventory # 097753
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