Mistress of the Vatican

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. A Secret Female Pope: Meet Olimpia Maidalchini, the ambitious sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X, who wielded such immense power that Romans hung banners in churches calling her "Pope Olimpia I." Vatican Intrigue: Explore the back rooms of Baroque Rome, where cardinals were appointed, fortunes were made, and foreign policy was decided—often at the direction of a woman the Church tried to erase from history. A Buried True Story: Drawing from long-suppressed archives and diplomatic dispatches, this narrative nonfiction account uncovers a scandalous chapter of Catholic Church history that has been hidden for 400 years. Papal Nepotism: In an age of rampant corruption, one woman outmaneuvered the most powerful men in Europe to build a dynasty and secure her own fortune against all odds.