To Kidnap a Pope
Book description
A groundbreaking account of Napoleon Bonaparte, Pope Pius VII, and the kidnapping that would forever divide church and state
"In gripping, vivid prose, Caiani brings to life the struggle for power that would shape modern Europe. It all makes for a historical read which is both original and enjoyable."-Antonia Fraser,…
Why read it?
2 authors picked To Kidnap a Pope as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Well over 200,000 books have been written about Napoleon, but this recent work actually manages to say something new by focusing on an aspect of his reign that has been oddly neglected – at least in the English-speaking world – his tense and turbulent relations with the Pope, Pius VII, which ended with the Pope’s kidnapping from Rome by French forces in 1809 and imprisonment in France. Though bullied, browbeaten, and even once physically manhandled by Napoleon, the elderly Pontiff steadfastly refused to make the concessions to the secular power that his captor demanded from him. Ambrogio Caiani not only…
From Munro's list on the French Revolution and Napoleon.
A book that can be read almost as a thriller. Caiani takes us through a tale of bullying, bungling, and petty spite by Napoleon, who meets more than his match in the mediated determination of Pius, a man so long dismissed even by his collaborators, as a second-rate leader. Caiani’s deft character analysis, born of meticulous research in a plethora of archives in Rome, Paris, Lyon, and beyond, yield the story of a tense, complex battle of wills between two men who, despite their own best efforts, came to symbolise one of the most profound, protracted culture wars of the…
From Michael's list on Napoleon and an era that shook Europe.
If you love To Kidnap a Pope...
Tap Dancing on Everest
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up…
Want books like To Kidnap a Pope?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like To Kidnap a Pope.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,593
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like To Kidnap a Pope, you might also like...
American Flygirl
The first and only full-length biography of Hazel Ying Lee, an unrecognized pioneer and unsung World War II hero who fought for a country that actively discriminated against her gender, race, and ambition.
This unique hidden figure defied countless stereotypes to become the first Asian American woman in United States…
We Had Fun and Nobody Died
This irreverent biography provides a rare window into the music industry from a promoter’s perspective. From a young age, Peter Jest was determined to make a career in live music, and despite naysayers and obstacles, he did just that, bringing national acts to his college campus atUW-Milwaukee, booking thousands of…
