Folio Archives 488: Saints and Sinners by Eamon Duffy - 2009

Saints and Sinners, a History of the Popes by Eamon Duffy - 2009

This an eminently readable and comprehensive history of the Popes of the Catholic Church from its earliest beginnings to Benedict XVI. The intrigues, schisms, crises and corruption are covered as well as the reformation, good governance and peace-making efforts made by the Popes. Even the legends of the female Pope Joan and the tradition of felling the Pope’s testicles are discussed. There was even a Pope (Pius II) who wrote erotic plays and cardinal (from Toulouse) who was openly atheist!

There are sections of the text that are quite gripping in their fascinating detail, while in a few areas the detail becomes excessive and a page or two can be skimmed.

There is a list of all the Popes in chronological order at the back of the book along with a glossary, a section on how Popes are made, an extensive bibliography, multiple notes and an index.

It is a book not only for Catholics, but for those of other sects and religions who wish to understand the most powerful religious institution on earth.

Eamon Duffy (b.1947) is an Irish historian, an emeritus professor at Cambridge University and a former president of Magdalene College.

The 522 page book has a colour frontispiece and 26 pages of bound in monochrome and colour plates. There is an introduction by the author and there are five integrated line maps and tables. The endleaves are magnificent, printed with an extract of a fifteenth-century fresco. The book is fully bound in red buckram, blocked on cover and spine in gold and black with a design by Neil Gower. The plain black slipcase measures 24.8x16.9x4.8cm.













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An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.

Nice work, thanks !