{"product_id":"virgin-child-9781909954458","title":"Virgin \u0026 Child","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePatrick, the first Irish Pope, is sure of many things: his faith, the sanctity of life, that he is a man, that he is celibate.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen all he's held true is cast into doubt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow can he act as the moral heart of the church when his convictions falter and his secrets threaten to destroy all he's achieved? Catholicism and modern morality are held in tension, and Pope Patrick must make once unimaginable choices. When the truth begins to emerge, the Vatican wants him silenced. The Pope’s sheltered existence becomes a race of life and death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This literary thriller is not your average whodunnit, but rather a modern morality suspense story with an unexpected twist… A compelling alternative papal mystery.' \u003cb\u003e- Elizabeth Fitzherbert, \u003ci\u003eThe Lady\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Hamand goes on to relate a tale so humanely, so movingly and with such authorial depth and deftness that the reader would have to be a saint not to read it through in one enormous sitting… beautifully written and utterly transgressive.' \u003cb\u003e- Paul Simon, \u003ci\u003eThe Morning Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This Vatican thriller is beautifully written with some extraordinary twists and turns.' \u003cb\u003e- Jane Corry,\u003ci\u003e Sidmouth Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Maggie Hamand… invokes thriller tropes, mixing them with science fiction-style speculation, journalistic observation and lyrical descriptions.' - \u003cb\u003eMichèle Roberts,\u003ci\u003e The Tablet \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Lively and sympathetic… expertly, she convinces us to the point where we willingly suspend disbelief.' \u003cb\u003e- Caroline Bowder, \u003ci\u003eChurch Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A surprisingly realistic and robust exploration of the church's view on femininity, abortion, the body, love and more… clever and intriguing.' \u003cb\u003e- Niamh Donnelly, \u003ci\u003eThe Irish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This is a strange and strangely touching novel and it is also written with great elegance and authority. It tackles head on some of the most challenging issues for the Roman Catholic Church around gender and sexuality and at the same time has some of the loveliest, most persuasive, writing about personal prayer that I have ever encountered in fiction.' \u003cb\u003e- Sara Maitland, author of \u003ci\u003eA Book Of Silence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Beautifully written, its articulate and compassionate… Thought provoking and unputdownable.' \u003cb\u003eLesley Budge, \u003ci\u003eThe Bookwormery\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The most conceptually striking novel I've read this year… nothing short of genius.' \u003cb\u003e- Julie Ryan,\u003ci\u003e All Things Bookie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Strangely moving and intensely thoughtful…' \u003cb\u003e- Joules Barham, \u003ci\u003eNorthern Reader\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Part thriller, part mystery, part who-dun-it… a truly original story.' \u003cb\u003e- Angela Crowther, \u003ci\u003ePromoting Crime Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Virgin \u0026amp; Child is a fantasy, but meticulous research, liturgical and anatomical, persuades us to accept it is based on facts.' \u003cb\u003e- Gwen Moffat, \u003ci\u003eShots\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Lyrical and full of philosophical questions' \u003cb\u003e- Madeleine Shakespeare,\u003ci\u003e Ramblingmads \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Barbican Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51020785156439,"sku":"9781909954458","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781909954458.jpg?v=1750784383","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/virgin-child-9781909954458","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}