In Solemn Conclave

by Robert L. Carneiro

It is some years in the future, and Pope Urban IX, pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, after reigning for thirteen years, has suddenly died of a massive heart attack. From every corner of the globe, 77 cardinals converge on the city of Rome, where they will gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect Urban's successor. Ballot after ballot, the leading candidates vie with each other for the papacy, only to falter and fall by the wayside. Finally, after endless maneuvering and many ballots, one of them gains enough support among his fellows to emerge as the 267th pope. Although fiction, this account of the deliberations of a conclave of cardinal-electors is based on a close study of conclaves in the past. Rich in authentic detail, the story is nonetheless imaginative, filled with intrigue and suspense, the outcome remaining in doubt until the very end. Other novels have been written about conclaves and papal elections, but this is the only one that follows the actions of a conclave, detail for detail, from beginning to end, with each ballot tabulated and the results announced and debated by the assembled cardinals. In addition to presenting the traditional religious ritual involved in electing a pope, the novel is filled with colorful incidents of papal history, as well as the daily comings and goings of the cardinals. Though forced to live in rough-hewn pine cubicles, constructed for the occasion in the Apostolic Palace, the cardinals are nevertheless surrounded by some of the world's greatest art, which greets them during the days they must remain in strict seclusion, until a new pontiff is chosen. The author, Robert L. Carneiro, is an anthropologist who has written extensively in his own field, including two books, The Muse of History and the Science of Culture (2000) and Evolutionism in Cultural Anthropology (2003). This, however, is his first novel.

424 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2004

About the author

Born in New York City on June 4, 1927, Robert Leonard Carneiro earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology in 1949 from the University of Michigan and his Master’s degree in 1952. He earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1957 from the University of Michigan.

At the University of Wisconsin, Carneiro served as a Professor from 1956 to 1957. From 1957 to 1969 he was the Assistant to the Associate Curator for South American Ethnology. He also served as Assistant Curator (1957-1963), Associate Curator (1963-1969) and Full Curator (1969-present) for the American Museum of Natural History. During this time, Carneiro held concurrent positions as Visiting Professor at Hunter College from 1963 to 1964, at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1968, at the University of Victoria, and at Pennsylvania State University in 1973. Carneiro is currently an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

Carneiro is currently a member of the American Anthropological Association, the American Ethnological Society, and the Society for American Archaeology. He has also been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. His research consisted of cultural evolution, including the reconstruction of sequences and the history of evolutionism. Carneiro often conducted research on the origin and development of the state.

Carneiro's theory of the state of formation - "Carneiro's Circumscription Theory", earned him the recognition of being called one of the most important evolutionists. He suggested that states might emerge because of population growth in an area that is physically or socially limited. Carneiro illustrates his theory by describing how states may have emerged on the northern coast of Peru. He also researched the cultural ecology of Amazonia, especially the effects of subsistence. Carneiro greatly influenced the theory of cultural evolution.