Patrick, the first Irish Pope, is sure of many things: his faith, the sanctity of life, that he is a man, that he is celibate.

Then all he's held true is cast into doubt.

How 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.

About the Author
London-based Maggie Hamand is a novelist, journalist, and non-fiction author. Maggie brings her acumen as a journalist and as a founding publisher of acclaimed independent The Maia Press to the PR campaign for this book. Maggie is author of the best-selling Creative Writing for Dummies, and her first novel, The Resurrection of the Body, was published to critical acclaim and has been optioned for film and television. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Hull, where she leads MA modules in the Short Story and the Novel.

Reviews

'This literary thriller is not your average whodunnit, but rather a modern morality suspense story with an unexpected twist... A compelling alternative papal mystery.' - Elizabeth Fitzherbert, The Lady

'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.' - Paul Simon, The Morning Star

'This Vatican thriller is beautifully written with some extraordinary twists and turns.' - Jane Corry, Sidmouth Herald

'Maggie Hamand... invokes thriller tropes, mixing them with science fiction-style speculation, journalistic observation and lyrical descriptions.' - Michele Roberts, The Tablet

'Lively and sympathetic... expertly, she convinces us to the point where we willingly suspend disbelief.' - Caroline Bowder, Church Times

'A surprisingly realistic and robust exploration of the church's view on femininity, abortion, the body, love and more... clever and intriguing.' - Niamh Donnelly, The Irish Times

'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.' - Sara Maitland, author of A Book Of Silence

'Beautifully written, its articulate and compassionate... Thought provoking and unputdownable.' Lesley Budge, The Bookwormery

'The most conceptually striking novel I've read this year... nothing short of genius.' - Julie Ryan, All Things Bookie

'Strangely moving and intensely thoughtful...' - Joules Barham, Northern Reader

'Part thriller, part mystery, part who-dun-it... a truly original story.' - Angela Crowther, Promoting Crime Fiction

'Virgin & Child is a fantasy, but meticulous research, liturgical and anatomical, persuades us to accept it is based on facts.' - Gwen Moffat, Shots

'Lyrical and full of philosophical questions' - Madeleine Shakespeare, Ramblingmads

Book Information
ISBN 9781909954458
Author Maggie Hamand
Format Paperback
Page Count 281
Imprint Barbican Press
Publisher Barbican Press