Marx the First

Marx the First
	First edition
Author	Bruce Marshall
Cover artist	Gérard Lecoeur
Publisher	Constable
Publication date	1975
Publication place	Scotland
Media type	Print (hardback)
Pages	181
ISBN	0-09-460640-4
Preceded by	Urban the Ninth
Followed by	Peter the Second

Marx the First is a 1973 novel by Scottish writer Bruce Marshall. It is the second novel of a three volume series. Urban the Ninth is the first and Peter the Second the final.^[1]

Plot summary

In this Catholic comic thriller Pope Marx the First returns to the Vatican after being thought lost in an air crash two years previous. He takes over from Cardinal Stephen, who had been elected as Urban IX, an "accidental Pope" during the time Marx was thought lost.

Pope Marx, a very liberal Catholic, plans to make many radical changes to Catholic teaching, practices and doctrines. Stephen, who opposes these planned changes, is now serving as the Vatican's Secretary of State so that the Pope "can keep his eye on him."

The mother superior of a religious order is attempting to get the order's founder canonised. A number of miraculous occurrences happen and some say these events are due to the founder's intercession while others contest this. This leads to diplomatic friction between the USSR, Spain, The United Kingdom and the Vatican.^[2]

References

^ "New Novels". Catholic Herald magazine. 12 March 1976. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
^ Marshall, B: Marx the First Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York 1975.

This article about a 1970s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.

[New_Novels-1] "New Novels". Catholic Herald magazine. 12 March 1976. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

[2] Marshall, B: Marx the First Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York 1975.

[1]

[2]