''L'Anneau du pêcheur'' ("The Ring of the Fisherman") is a 1995 novel by the French writer

Jean Raspail Jean Raspail (, 5 July 1925 – 13 June 2020) was a French explorer, novelist, and travel writer. Many of his books are about historical figures, exploration and indigenous peoples. He was a recipient of the prestigious French literary awards Gra ...

. The narrative has two timelines: the time of Benedict XIII, the last

antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...

of the

Avignon Papacy The Avignon Papacy (; ) was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, now part of France) rather than in Rome (now the capital of ...

, and contemporary times, when the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

tries to discover Benedict's successor, as it turns out that his line of papacy has continued in secret throughout the centuries. The book received the

Prix Maison de la Presse The Prix Maison de la Presse is an annual French literary prize, established in 1970 by the Syndicat national des dépositaires de presse (SNDP) and Gabriel Cantin. Until 2005 it was known as Prix des Maisons de la Presse and given out in the two ...

and the

Prince Pierre Foundation The Prince Pierre Foundation (Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco) was established by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in February 1966 to promote culture and the arts through the creation and the awarding of prizes. Prince Rainier III created the foun ...

's Literary Prize.

References

External links

''L'Anneau du pêcheur''
at the publisher's website 1995 French novels French alternate history novels Avignon Papacy French-language novels Novels by Jean Raspail Catholic novels Novels set in the 14th century Novels set in the 15th century Éditions Albin Michel books {{1990s-ah-novel-stub