The Madonna List

by Maxwell L. Foran

Rome, 1221. On the death of Dominic Guzman, founder of the Order of Dominican Friars, a list of three names is locked away with the depositions attesting to Dominic's beatification, and a copy is sealed in an icon of the Virgin Mary that is eventually carried to New France. This list is the thread that binds the fates of ordinary people caught up in the grand sweep of historical events. The Madonna List traces the lives of two nineteenth-century men across three continents, where each finds himself intertwined with a woman who has been visited by the Virgin Mary. Bernad Birous is an ambitious and arrogant young Genoan of the merchant class who desires to use the power of the Church to serve his worldly aims, and who comes to believe that he is the chosen of God. Martin Goyette is a young artist from the rural parishes of Lower Canada who becomes enmeshed in the doomed Lower Canada Rebellion of 1838. Their very different lives are drawn together in a penal colony in New South Wales (Australia), where fortune, ambition, and faith determine their fates. A web of mystery, violence, love, betrayal, and tragedy finally leaves one man standing and one broken when the shattering secret of The Madonna List is revealed.

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2005

Reviews

[Asa · Rating 3 out of 5]

About how a religious icon carries secrets across centuries, shaping people’s lives without ever challenging the empires carrying it. Basically, it’s the story of faith as historical luggage – always carried, rarely unpacked.

[Wally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a review on this book when it first came out and it said "Makes the Da Vinci Code read like a third grade reader". Very true! This book is only similar in that it is an historical thriller with a religious theme. Other than that it is much better than the Da Vinci Code in my opinion. Great characters and a great story!! Highly recommended read.

[Thalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable. Certainly unique. I was really excited to read a novel partly centered in Canadian History as I had just studied that particular time period ( the Rebellions ) and this novel certainly brings them to life

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book spans centuries and continents - Dominican friars, religious fervor, deceit, illicit love and visits from the Virgin Mary. This is much better than the Da Vinci Code!

[Kirstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another take on the mysticism that the Davinci Code is concerned with.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have also translated this into the Romanian language - a very hard text, but wonderful in that I have learnt a lot about Canadian and Australian cultures.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. Similar in style to the "Da Vinci Code", but a better written novel.