{"product_id":"9780802199423","title":"The Pope's Rhinoceros","description":"\u003cb\u003e“The acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eLemprière’s Dictionary\u003c\/i\u003e furnishes another richly textured romp steeped in history, legend, and excitement.” —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Pope’s Rhinoceros\u003c\/i\u003e is a vivid, antic, and picaresque novel spun around one of history’s most bizarre chapters: the sixteenth-century attempt to procure a rhinoceros as a bribe for Pope Leo X. In February 1516, a Portuguese ship sank off the coast of Italy. The \u003ci\u003eNostra Senora de Ajuda\u003c\/i\u003e had sailed fourteen thousand miles from the Indian kingdom of Gujarat. Her mission: to bribe the “pleasure-loving Pope” into favoring expansionist Portugal over her rival Spain with the most exotic and least likely of gifts — a living rhinoceros. Moving from the herring colonies of the Baltic Sea to the West African rain forest, with a cast of characters including an order of reclusive monks and Rome’s corrupt cardinals, courtesans, ambassadors, and nobles, \u003ci\u003eThe Pope’s Rhinoceros\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a fantastic adventure tale and a portrait of an age rushing headlong to its crisis.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “An exhausting banquet of a book . . . One of the most original, energetic, and ambitious novels of recent years.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Mr. Norfolk’s heady originality and intellectual energy are apparent on every page.” —\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Grove\/Atlantic, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47107157917936,"sku":"9780802199423","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780802199423_p0.jpg?v=1763665741","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780802199423","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}