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Historical person
1594–1657
Olimpia Maidalchini was born into a Viterbo family and married into the Pamphilj family, becoming the sister-in-law of Giovanni Battista Pamphilj, the future Pope Innocent X. Widowed, wealthy and experienced in managing family interests, she became a powerful figure after his election in 1644.
Her access to Innocent made her a target for diplomats, petitioners and enemies, and hostile writers portrayed her as “La Papessa”, the female pope. Modern accounts distinguish her genuine influence over patronage and family affairs from the more sensational accusations attached to her name. She remains central to understanding the politics and reputation of the Pamphilj papacy.
In Deborah Swift’s The Cameo Keeper, The election of Innocent X instead pulls them into the politics of the Pamphilj family, especially when Mia is invited to serve the pope’s formidable sister-in-law Olimpia Maidalchini.
Series
The Giulia Tofana series reimagines the legendary poisoner against the courts, convents, workshops and political intrigues of seventeenth-century Italy. Beginning with Giulia’s flight to Naples, the sequence follows her attempts to survive a reputation built around Aqua Tofana while protecting those closest to her. Later volumes carry the…
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