The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten
The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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The Two Popes
Francis, Benedict, and the Decision That Shook the World

Author: Anthony McCarten

Narrator: John Lee

Unabridged: 8 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/29/2019

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

THE STORY BEHIND THE SCREENPLAY OF THE TWO POPES, THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING ANTHONY HOPKINS AND JONATHAN PRYCE (PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS THE POPE).

From the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour comes the fascinating and revealing tale of an unprecedented transfer of power, and of two very different men - who both happen to live in the Vatican.

In February 2013, the arch-conservative Pope Benedict XVI made a startling announcement: he would resign, making him the first pope to willingly vacate his office in over 700 years. Reeling from the news, the College of Cardinals rushed to Rome to congregate in the Sistine Chapel 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.

Why did Benedict walk away at the height of power, knowing his successor might be someone whose views might undo his legacy? How did Francis - who used to ride the bus to work back in his native Buenos Aires - adjust to life as leader to a billion followers? If, as the Church teaches, the pope is infallible, how can two living popes who disagree on almost everything both be right?

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. From Benedict and Francis's formative experiences in war-torn Germany and Argentina to the sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the Church to its foundations, to the intrigue and the occasional comedy of life in the Vatican, The Pope glitters with the darker and the lighter details of one of the world's most opaque but significant institutions.

About Anthony McCarten

Anthony McCarten is a New Zealand-born playwright, novelist, journalist, television writer and filmmaker. He is best known for writing the biopics The Theory of Everything (2014), Darkest Hour (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and The Two Popes (2019). A double BAFTA-winning screenwriter, he has been nominated four times for Academy Awards, among them nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Theory of Everything and The Two Popes. He is the author of ten previous plays and writer of the 'book' for the upcoming Neil Diamond Broadway musical, A Beautiful Noise (2022). The Collaboration is the second instalment of his The Worship Trilogy, the other two parts being The Two Popes and Wednesday at Warren's, Friday at Bill's. As a sequence, they separately explore our worship of religion, art and money. He lives in London.

About John Lee

John Lee has read more than 100 audiobooks.  His work has garnered multiple Earphones Awards and won AudioFile's Best Voice in Fiction & Classics in both 2008 and 2009.  Lee narrated the audiobook for A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin, volume four of A Song of Ice and Fire. He has also read for Jack London, John Banville, Charles Dickens, and Barbara Taylor Bradford.  In addition, Lee narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays.  He is also an accomplished stage actor and has written and co-produced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit.  He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephen on March 07, 2020

interesting book highlighting the lifes of the two popes Francis and Benedict where for the first time since 15th century there was 2 living popes......more

Goodreads review by Jenni on March 03, 2020

I am not Catholic, but I was swept up in the story of these two popes. McCarten does a wonderful job telling intermingling their histories as well as the history of the church. He respectfully satisfies the curiosity one has for the “secret” Vatican traditions, and then catapults the reader into the......more

Goodreads review by Addicted2booksStefania on August 31, 2022

I watched this movie before my trip to Italy and decided I would read the book, since I enjoyed the movie so much. I was met with the truth which was quite hard to swallow. The movie is a bit of a Wes Anderson portrayal of these two men. It is a glossing over of their actions and lives. I love the m......more

Goodreads review by Colin on January 09, 2021

A really interesting look in to the backgrounds of both of the popes. I have watched the movie on Netflix but found the detail in this book to be very intricate and found both of these popes to have troubling pasts and how they reckon them in to their papacies.......more

Goodreads review by Thomas on July 20, 2021

This was a bias account of Popes Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. The author aims his biases against the former; and his adulation for the latter. Mr. McCarten holds Pope Benedict XVI accountable for all the sexual abuse scandals over the decades. Although he only accuses, he does not make a case for......more