Review by Choice Review
This book's title is apt: Rustici's intent is not to prove the authenticity of Pope Joan but to explore how the Popess story became a handy tool with which 16th- and 17th-century Protestants and Roman Catholics could bash each other. In places, Rustici seems to lose his focus, as in his discussion of Spenser's Faerie Queene, which becomes a discussion of the poem qua poem at the expense of the Popess story. On the other hand, one of the more fascinating chapters deals with the comparison of Elizabeth I and the Whore of Babylon, and thus the Popess. Rustici also offers a chapter on the way in which the theater employed the Popess story for propaganda purposes. The book concludes with a discussion of the movie Pope Joan (aka, The Devil's Imposter), which was apparently ruined by inept editing. Whether or not one accepts Rustici's conclusions, his arguments are well presented and his writing is accessible. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. L. L. Bronson emeritus, Central Michigan University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
