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Mistress of the Vatican – Book Review
Mistress Of The Vatican: The True Story Of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope by Eleanor Herman
When Olimpia Maidalchini was coming of age in 17th century Italy (well, what would become Italy, but I’m going to call it Italy for the sake of this review), there was a huge problem with dowry inflation. Some or all of the women in many families were sent to convents instead of being married off. Olimpia’s father planned to send her and her sisters to convents, but Olimpia was not about to allow herself to be locked away from society. A very good first marriage to a husband who died young gave Olimpia the financial resources she needed to marry into a noble Roman family in an attempt to gain power for herself in an age when women did not have much power.
Upon marrying Pamphilio Pamphili, Olimpia hoped she could catapult her husband into temporal power. When this failed, she turned her machinations to her brother in law, Giambattista whose vocation was the church. Olimpia helped Giambattista become a papal nuncio, a Cardinal, and eventually Pope Innocent X. Rumored to be her brother-in-law’s mistress, Olimpia basically ran Giambattista’s career and, once he became Pope, she basically ran the Vatican, creating many enemies along the way.
Donna Olimpia Maidalchini
Herman has really found an interesting story to tell in Olimpia Maidalchini. Olimpia was a strong woman and an abrasive personality in a time when owmen were supposed to be subservient and most certainly were not supposed to hold positions (even unofficial) of power within the church. The sheer amount of information about 17th century Italy was a bit overwhelming at times, but most or all of it did add to my understanding of Olimpia’s story.
I was somewhat frustrated by the use of endnotes over footnotes, but that seems to be pretty common in the more popular treatments of history lately. I don’t think I’ve seen footnotes since college. Of course, Herman doesn’t seem like the typical historian. Don’t get me wrong, she seems to really know her facts and is really pretty objective, but she is the sassiest, snarkiest history writer I’ve ever read. I know there are snarkier moments than this, but this is what I can put my finger on:
The clearest sign of demonic possession was a gyrating pelvis. Anyone caught dong a seventeenth-century version of Elvis Presley – no matter how many cripples he healed – would have been drenched with holy water immediately and would, most likely, have responded with hisses and howls.
-Page 267
I know they study different periods, but I can’t imagine Jon Meacham referring to anyone as a “seventeenth-century version of Elvis.” This could be a plus or a minus, depending on your preferences, but I enjoyed it, it kept things interesting.
I liked “Mistress Of The Vatican” because it was informative and sort of fun. It definitely made me want to read more of Herman’s work. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I have her “Sex With Kings” around here somewhere, I may have to go and dig that out.
Buy this book from:
Powells.
A local indepdent bookseller via Indiebound.
Amazon.
Thank you to Stephanie from HarperCollins for sending me this book to review.
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Nice review–I especially the like quote you included. It definitely seems to showcase the author’s style. Not sure if she’s for me. And I will say, for the record, that I definitely prefer footnotes over endnotes.
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I’m not sure if this book is for me! It always annoys me when historians use modern references to clarify things. Nothing is ever that simple. I guess it can lighten a book, but I’d rather get a better feel for how things were, and I don’t think modern references do that. Reminds me of when Michael Hicks compared Anne Neville to a modern housewife. It’s completely not the same thing and doesn’t have any of the same connotations, but it must appeal to some people.
I prefer footnotes too, otherwise I never look at references. I wish more popular history would include them, I always want to know whether people are relying on other historians or primary sources.
[Reply]
devourerofbooks Reply:
September 11th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Yes, I can definitely see how it would be a negative for someone who is an actual historian. I will say that she generally didn’t use modern things as comparison, more as snark. I’m not sure there were any other modern examples at all, really.
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Glad to see you like this book! I saw the author in person and she definitely had that snarkiness going then as well. If you want to can check out the videos here. My mom and I got in a bit of an argument over her sense of humor – I found it funny, mom found it demeaning. I really must move this book to the top of the TBR list!
.-= Heather J.´s last blog ..BBAW – go vote now please! ***sticky post *** =-.
[Reply]
devourerofbooks Reply:
September 11th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Oh yes, I remember that post! I think I watched that video when you first put it up.
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I have this one and I think it sounds interesting!
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I am going to have to make time for this book. It appeals to me both as a lover of history and as a Catholic.
I get tired of flipping back to the end of the book when I’m reading non-fiction as well – especially when it only ends up being a reference to a book I don’t have and doesn’t provide more detailed information.
Do you think that references to Elvis can date a book? In 100 or 200 years, will that mean anything? I think it’s fine for what it is today, but if I were to write a work of non-fiction, I’d want it to be relevant for as long as possible.
Great review!
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At the beginning of your review, I was all ready to add this to my wish list, but after that quote, I’m not so sure.
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I’m thinking of picking this one up, as I’ve seen a couple of reviews for it.
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I have this one to review so I’m very glad to see it’s good. Thanks for the review.
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Oh very neat! I’ve often wondered just how many females really ran things back when it was considered a man’s world…
.-= Ladytink_534´s last blog ..Presenting It Right Now: =-.
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Good review! I had never heard of this one, but it sounds interesting. I’m not sure if it would be right for me, but if my library has it, I would definitely give it a try.
.-= Kay´s last blog ..Giveaway : Evermore by Alyson Noël =-.
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I liked Sex with Kings – I’ll have to check this one out.
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