The film Conclave (Conclave (2024) – IMDb) is being shown in cinemas in December 2024. It is a mystery thriller directed by Edward Berger and written by Peter Straughan based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris (Robert Harris: “Great politicians are like novelists” – New Statesman). The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini. In the film, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (played by Fiennes) organizes a papal conclave to elect a new pope, finding himself investigating secrets and scandals about leading candidates.
Now is an opportunity to read the novel either before or after watching the film. It’s a test and fun to note the similarities and differences. The summary of the novel is as follows:
Cardinal Jacopo Lomeli fears the worst when he gets an urgent summons to the bedside of the elderly Pope. By the time he gets there, the Pope has died of a heart attack in his sleep. Even as the various cardinals kneel by his bedside to pray, one thought is in all of their minds – a new Pope will have to be chosen, and soon. Some are ambitious and would welcome the challenge, some even have informal teams in place to canvas for them, others fear the enormity of the role and include in their prayers a plea to God that He will not choose them. As Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Lomeli will have the task of running the Conclave – the meeting of all the cardinal electors to whom will fall the task of selecting the new Pope.
Following the Pope’s funeral, four cardinals emerge as the front runners: Aldo Bellini of Italy, the late pope’s Secretary of State and the candidate supported by the Church’s liberal wing; Joseph Tremblay of Canada, Camerlengo and Archbishop Emeritus of Quebec; Joshua Adeyemi of Nigeria, the Cardinal Major Penitentiary; and Goffredo Tedesco of Italy, the reactionary Patriarch of Venice. Shortly before the 118 cardinals are sequestered for the duration of the conclave, Archbishop Janusz Woźniak, the Prefect of the Papal Household, approaches Lomeli and claims that the late pope had divulged to him during their final dinner that he had demanded Tremblay’s resignation. The late Pope had not explained why this was necessary and stated only that the reason would soon be made apparent. Lomeli is taken aback by this news, as there was no record of Tremblay being dismissed. The Dean sends Monsignor Raymond O’Malley, his assistant, to Monsignor Morales, the late Pope’s private secretary and an alleged witness to Tremblay’s dismissal, to get corroboration for Woźniak’s story. Morales denies the incident occurred, but inadvertently reveals the existence of a ‘withdrawn report’ tied to Tremblay. So begins the disclosure of character flaws in Cardinal candidates that will ultimately lead to a surprising outcome.
There is a wealth of Roman Catholic and Vatican detail in this book, leaving the reader feeling educated as well as entertained.
Shortlisted for the 2017 British Book Award Crime and Thriller Book of the Year
Robert Harris is the author of fifteen bestselling novels: the ‘Cicero Trilogy’ – Imperium (2006), Lustrum (2009) and Dictator (2015), and also Fatherland (1992), Enigma (1995), Archangel (1998), Pompeii (2003), The Ghost (2007), The Fear Index (2011), An Officer and a Spy (2013, which won four prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction), Conclave (2016), Munich (2017), The Second Sleep (2019), V2 (2020) and Act of Oblivion (2022). His work has been translated into forty languages and nine of his books have been adapted for cinema and television. He lives in West Berkshire with his wife, Gill Hornby.
Begin your journey of enjoyment in the historical fiction of Robert Harris by checking your local library catalogue here Home | South Lanarkshire Libraries (sllclibrary.co.uk)
400 pages in Penguin
First published 2016
ISBN-13 : 978-1804947814
