Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope - Paperback

For a decade in the seventeenth century a woman ran the Catholic Church, through her brother-in-law and reputed lover, Pope Innocent X. Cardinals bowed down to her and princes feted her as she made international policy, waged war, patronized Rome's greatest baroque artists, and stuffed her pockets with Vatican gold.

Born of a humble family, at fifteen Olimpia Maidalchini was almost forced to become a nun against her will because her father could not afford a dowry. But Olimpia cleverly escaped the convent, marrying money first, and nobility second. Widowed twice, she single-handedly seated her indecisive brother-in-law on the throne of St. Peter.

Admired, hated, envied, and feared, Olimpia suffered the tragedy of being born an ambitious woman in a man's world. She also experienced the triumph of achieving her wildest dreams, despite the bitter handicap of being female. Against all odds, Olimpia became the Mistress of the Vatican and shook the Catholic Church down to its very foundations.

Eleanor Herman, the talented author of the New York Times bestselling Sex with Kings and Sex with the Queen goes behind the sacred doors of the Catholic Church in Mistress of the Vatican, a scintillating biography of a powerful yet little-known woman whose remarkable story is ripe with secrets, sex, passion, and ambition. For almost four centuries this astonishing story of a woman's absolute power over the Vatican has been successfully buried--until now.

• The Secret Female Pope: Meet Olimpia Maidalchini, the brilliant and ruthless sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X, who became the true power behind the papal throne.
• Baroque Rome: Explore a city of glittering pageants and apocalyptic terrors, where Olimpia patronized Rome's greatest artists while stuffing her pockets with Vatican gold.
• A Woman's Ambition: Follow Olimpia's cunning escape from the convent as she marries for money, then nobility, on her relentless climb to the top of a man's world.
• A Buried History: Uncover the story of absolute power the Catholic Church successfully buried for four centuries--a tale of passion, sex, and secrets finally brought to light.

Back Jacket

Born without a dowry, nearly forced into a convent, and later married off to a man she didn't love, Olimpia Maidalchini vowed never to be poor, powerless, or beholden to any man again. Instead, using her wits, Olimpia became the unofficial ruler of the most powerful institution in the world: the Roman Catholic Church.

The Church firmly states that women must be excluded from church leadership positions--but for more than a decade in the seventeenth century, Olimpia ran the Vatican. As sister-in-law and reputed mistress of the indecisive Pope Innocent X, she appointed cardinals, negotiated with foreign ambassadors, and helped herself to a heaping portion of the Papal States' treasury.

In Mistress of the Vatican, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman brings to life not only an extraordinary woman lost in history but an entire civilization in all its greatness . . . and ignominy. This is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time.