What to Read If You Enjoyed (Or Are Waiting For) ‘Conclave’
Focus Features
The conclave to elect the next pope after the death of Pope Francis last month is now underway. When the leader of the Catholic Church dies, cardinals sequester themselves in the Sistine Chapel to cast round after round of secret ballots until one receives a two-thirds majority and ascends to the papacy. Interest in the clandestine process has perhaps never been higher by the general public due to the popularity of the Edward Berger film Conclave released last fall which was nominated for eight Academy Awards (and won one—for Adapted Screenplay).
The low-simmering film is a faithful adaptation of Robert Harris's book of the same name, published in 2016, detailing the political maneuvering within a conclave of papal candidates with competing theological ideologies vying for the top spot in the church. Harris's Conclave is just one of many books that taps into our fascination with the secrecy, power struggles, and inner workings of the Catholic Church. Below, find thriller and suspense fiction involving the pope and Vatican, as well as historical fiction and nonfiction titles that tread similar ground.
Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Conclave
by Robert Harris
The pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, 118 cardinals from all over the globe will gather to cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they are not immune to the human temptations of power and glory. And they are not above the tribalism and factionalism that consumes humanity. When all is said and done, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on Earth.
Conclave, the film, is also available to borrow on DVD.
A Killing for Christ
by Pete Hamill
A troublesome American priest assigned to the Vatican uncovers a plot to assassinate Pope Paul during Holy Week.
Woman of God
by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Scrutinized as the world's first woman papal candidate, Brigid Fitzgerald, a doctor on the front lines in Sudan, reflects on her difficult childhood and a series of trials that have tested her faith before a high-stakes battle compels her to convert her enemies to a cause that threatens the Church and her life.
The Fifth Gospel
by Ian Caldwell
A lost gospel, a contentious relic, and a dying pope's final wish converge to send two brothers—both Vatican priests—on an intellectual quest to untangle Christianity's greatest historical mystery.
The Messenger
by Daniel Silva
Recovering from a showdown with a master terrorist in Jerusalem, art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon is enlisted by a ruthless papal secretary to assist in the investigation of a murdered Swiss guard whose killer may be targeting the pope.
part of the Gabriel Allon series, but can be read as a standalone
The Malta Exchange
by Steve Berry
While a conclave to select the next pope is about to begin, a rogue Cardinal has fled Rome for Malta in search of a document that could pave his way to the papacy. Former Justice Department operative, Cotton Malone, is on the trail of legendary letters between Winston Churchill and Benito Mussolini that disappeared in 1945 and could re-write history. But someone else—a secret sect within the legendary Knights of Malta—seems to be after the same letters. Malone must race the cardinal, the knights, and the clock to find what has been lost for centuries.
part of the Cotton Malone series, but can be read as a standalone
The Vatican Secret
by David Leadbeater
When ex-MI5 operative Joe Mason is sent to Rome to guard an elderly professor and his daughter, he thinks he's in for an easy ride. But on their first day in the Vatican secret archives, a masked assassin gains entry, shoots Joe's client in cold blood and steals an ancient manuscript. The search for answers leads Joe and his comrades in a race against time, across continents, and into treacherous mountains to prevent a centuries-old enemy from bringing Rome—and the world as we know it—crashing down.
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown
The murder of a world-famous physicist raises fears that the Illuminati are operating again after centuries of silence, and religion professor Robert Langdon is called in to assist with the case.
Historical Fiction
Pope Joan
by Donna Woolfolk Cross
For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die—Pope Joan, the 9th-century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter. But such power always comes at a price...
Raphael, Painter in Rome
by Stephanie Storey
When Pope Julius II calls artists Michelangelo and Raphael down to Rome, they are pitted against each other: Michelangelo painting the Sistine Ceiling, while Raphael decorates the pope's private apartments. As Raphael strives toward perfection in paint, he battles internal demons: his desperate ambition, crippling fear of imperfection, and unshakable loneliness. Along the way, he conspires with cardinals, scrambles through the ruins of ancient Rome, and falls in love with a baker's-daughter-turned-prostitute who becomes his muse.
The Vatican Princess
by C.W. Gortner
Glamorous and predatory, the Borgias fascinated and terrorized 15th-century Renaissance Italy, and Lucrezia Borgia, beloved daughter of the pope, was at the center of the dynasty's ambitions. Slandered as a heartless seductress who lured men to their doom, was she in fact the villainess of legend, or was she trapped in a familial web, forced to choose between loyalty and survival?
Nonfiction
The Two Popes: Francis, Benedict, and the Decision That Shook the World
by Anthony McCarten
In February 2013, the arch-conservative Pope Benedict XVI made a startling announcement: he would resign—the first pope to willingly vacate his office in over 700 years. The College of Cardinals rushed to Rome to pick his successor. Their unlikely choice? Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,200 years, a one time tango club bouncer, a passionate soccer fan, a man with the common touch. Having immersed himself in these men's lives to write the screenplay for The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten masterfully weaves their stories into one gripping narrative to explore why one man walked away at the height of power and another adjusted to life as leader to a billion followers.
City of Echoes: A New History of Rome, Its Popes, and Its People
by Jessica Wärnberg
This bold new history of Rome focuses on the impact of the popes who have served throughout the centuries and how they forged the city’s enduring identity and helped defeat emperors, revolutionaries and fascists.
In the Courts of Three Popes: An American Lawyer and Diplomat in the Last Absolute Monarchy of the West
by Mary Ann Glendon
For 20 centuries, the Catholic Church has radically shaped world history—and survived it. In the decades following the Second Vatican Council, three popes have carried forward this legacy, striving to lead the Church and its governing body—the last absolute monarchy of the West—into the modern world. Here, Mary Ann Glendon gives readers a rare firsthand account of the three popes who worked to modernize the Catholic Church—and to evangelize the modern world.
Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.