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Title: Book Reading Groups Beware!
Review: Our bookgroup scheduled a speakerphone chat with Donna Woolfolk Cross, author of the "other" Pope Joan, and I bought this book by accident! I was so confused when everyone said how much they loved the book -- only to find out I had read the wrong one. I had so much trouble participating in the conversation because I had so much trouble slogging through this Royidis/Durrell version of the story.The Royidis/Durrell version of Pope Joan is sl-o-o-o-w moving, old-fashioned (after all, it's more than 100 years old), and dull. In contrast, the Cross version is fast-paced, riveting and impossible to put down! The notes at the end of the Cross book, documenting her research, are fascinating, and make it so clear that Joan was more than a fantasy.If you insist on reading this version, read it for comparison purposes only, and enjoy a good snooze. If you want a great read, accompanied by actual historical reference, purchase the Cross version of Pope Joan.
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