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Maeve Chronicles #2
The Passion of Mary Magdalen
For the millions of readers fascinated by Dan Brown’s revelations about Mary Magdalen in The Da Vinci Code, here, at last, is their chance to meet the Gospel’s most provocative woman face to face—on her own terms.
Make way for a new Magdalen. Born on a Celtic isle to eight warrior-witch mothers, Maeve is raised to be as brave as any hero. In her stubborn, enchanting voice, she recounts her perilous quest for the young man, Esus, whose life she once saved from druid sacrifice. Captured and sold to a Roman Madam, Maeve is sustained by a fierce sense of identity, compassion for her sister whores, and her unquenchable love. When she wins her freedom and finds her lost lover, a stormy life begins for both as we follow the Passion story through the eyes of Jesus’s partner—disciple to no man. Not even the One she loves. By turns feisty and funny, outrageous and tender, this Celtic Mary Magdalen challenges all stereotypes, both old and New Age, and brings us to transforming encounter with the divine feminine made flesh.
Elizabeth Cunningham is the author of the novels The Return of the Goddess and The Wild Mother. She comes from nine generations of Episcopal priests. Though she managed to avoid becoming an Episcopal priest, she was ordained as an interfaith minister of spiritual counsel in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. She balances writing with a counseling practice.
Make way for a new Magdalen. Born on a Celtic isle to eight warrior-witch mothers, Maeve is raised to be as brave as any hero. In her stubborn, enchanting voice, she recounts her perilous quest for the young man, Esus, whose life she once saved from druid sacrifice. Captured and sold to a Roman Madam, Maeve is sustained by a fierce sense of identity, compassion for her sister whores, and her unquenchable love. When she wins her freedom and finds her lost lover, a stormy life begins for both as we follow the Passion story through the eyes of Jesus’s partner—disciple to no man. Not even the One she loves. By turns feisty and funny, outrageous and tender, this Celtic Mary Magdalen challenges all stereotypes, both old and New Age, and brings us to transforming encounter with the divine feminine made flesh.
Elizabeth Cunningham is the author of the novels The Return of the Goddess and The Wild Mother. She comes from nine generations of Episcopal priests. Though she managed to avoid becoming an Episcopal priest, she was ordained as an interfaith minister of spiritual counsel in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. She balances writing with a counseling practice.
640 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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April 17, 2018
I was raised a Catholic. I went to a Catholic middle school, and currently attend a Jesuit college. In high school, I went to religion class on Sundays and made my Confirmation.
But try as I might (prepare for some blasphemy here), I could not bring myself to care about Jesus.
Okay: "Not care" may not be the right way to describe it. I couldn't relate, is what I'm trying to say. I knew teachers who got teary-eyed during the Stations of the Cross every year, but to me that particular Mass was just another obligation. And reading the Bible just made Jesus seem even less approachable. He always seemed more divine than human to me (and, let's face it, his Father's rules always seemed a little sexist).
The Passion of Mary Magdalen changed all that for me. Cunningham creates a brilliant, imperfect Jesus who makes honest mistakes, who can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but who seems more human than he does in any official Gospel. I genuinely cried in scenes that, otherwise, made me say "big deal" when we reenacted them at Mass in middle school.
But this book (and its predecessor, Magdalen Rising: The Beginning) also did one more thing for me, one thing for which I will be forever grateful: It made me love my body. It helped me discover divinity in women, in myself.
We Catholic girls are taught to bear Eve's shame. We're taught that our bodies are unclean and that our sexual agency is a sin. We're an "other." Maeve, Mary Magdalen, Priestess of Isis, whatever you choose to call her -- she teaches us not to feel ashamed or dirty when we have our periods, she teaches us to embrace every biological fact that comes with being a woman, she teaches us that men should be held accountable for their own mistakes and stop using women as scapegoats, she teaches us that there is a bit of the God(dess) in all of us. And most importantly, she teaches us sovereignty. She teaches us to make decisions about our own lives and our own bodies, not to let men dictate our lives for us.
I remember first reading Magdalen Rising, and reaching the scene in which Maeve uses her own menstrual blood to fingerpaint some rocks. My reaction was much like the reaction of Viviane, later in the book: Disgust. I almost put the book down, thinking it was a little too "absurd" and "savage" for my tastes. But something in me (the Goddess, perhaps?) said, "No, keep reading. This is great stuff." And soon I felt myself lightening up, and even loving that scene (I've reread Magdalen Rising three times already). Now, a few months later, when I got to the scene in The Passion of Mary Magdalen where Jesus finally breaks his "geis" and touches Maeve when she's bleeding, and then asks her to anoint him with her blood, I found myself crying and laughing and cheering for good ol' Jesus. I feel as though I've come full circle and really embraced my femininity.
I would 100% recommend this book to everyone, but especially to women who always felt a little estranged by the Catholic Church. I know not everyone will love it as much as I do, indeed many will bristle at the challenges Maeve/Mary Magdalen poses; but it's certainly worth the read. It has earned a place beside my other favorites on my special bookshelf. I cannot wait to accompany Maeve on the next phase of her journey in Bright Dark Madonna, and I'm sure that book will be just as great as Cunningham's others.
***
Update, 2018: Just finished the audiobook edition on Audible, and I absolutely loved it. It's perhaps even more emotional listening to it acted out by the fantastic narrator, Heather O'Neill. 5/5 stars is not enough!
But try as I might (prepare for some blasphemy here), I could not bring myself to care about Jesus.
Okay: "Not care" may not be the right way to describe it. I couldn't relate, is what I'm trying to say. I knew teachers who got teary-eyed during the Stations of the Cross every year, but to me that particular Mass was just another obligation. And reading the Bible just made Jesus seem even less approachable. He always seemed more divine than human to me (and, let's face it, his Father's rules always seemed a little sexist).
The Passion of Mary Magdalen changed all that for me. Cunningham creates a brilliant, imperfect Jesus who makes honest mistakes, who can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but who seems more human than he does in any official Gospel. I genuinely cried in scenes that, otherwise, made me say "big deal" when we reenacted them at Mass in middle school.
But this book (and its predecessor, Magdalen Rising: The Beginning) also did one more thing for me, one thing for which I will be forever grateful: It made me love my body. It helped me discover divinity in women, in myself.
We Catholic girls are taught to bear Eve's shame. We're taught that our bodies are unclean and that our sexual agency is a sin. We're an "other." Maeve, Mary Magdalen, Priestess of Isis, whatever you choose to call her -- she teaches us not to feel ashamed or dirty when we have our periods, she teaches us to embrace every biological fact that comes with being a woman, she teaches us that men should be held accountable for their own mistakes and stop using women as scapegoats, she teaches us that there is a bit of the God(dess) in all of us. And most importantly, she teaches us sovereignty. She teaches us to make decisions about our own lives and our own bodies, not to let men dictate our lives for us.
I remember first reading Magdalen Rising, and reaching the scene in which Maeve uses her own menstrual blood to fingerpaint some rocks. My reaction was much like the reaction of Viviane, later in the book: Disgust. I almost put the book down, thinking it was a little too "absurd" and "savage" for my tastes. But something in me (the Goddess, perhaps?) said, "No, keep reading. This is great stuff." And soon I felt myself lightening up, and even loving that scene (I've reread Magdalen Rising three times already). Now, a few months later, when I got to the scene in The Passion of Mary Magdalen where Jesus finally breaks his "geis" and touches Maeve when she's bleeding, and then asks her to anoint him with her blood, I found myself crying and laughing and cheering for good ol' Jesus. I feel as though I've come full circle and really embraced my femininity.
I would 100% recommend this book to everyone, but especially to women who always felt a little estranged by the Catholic Church. I know not everyone will love it as much as I do, indeed many will bristle at the challenges Maeve/Mary Magdalen poses; but it's certainly worth the read. It has earned a place beside my other favorites on my special bookshelf. I cannot wait to accompany Maeve on the next phase of her journey in Bright Dark Madonna, and I'm sure that book will be just as great as Cunningham's others.
***
Update, 2018: Just finished the audiobook edition on Audible, and I absolutely loved it. It's perhaps even more emotional listening to it acted out by the fantastic narrator, Heather O'Neill. 5/5 stars is not enough!
March 4, 2010
The title of this book doesn't do justice to just how astonishing it is. At turns reverent and irreverent, bawdy, earthy, spiritual, funny, moving, human and divine, it's an incredible journey with wonderfully dimensional characters. A massive book, and so involving, I had to put it down periodically and take a breather, but each time I picked it up again I fell right into the narrative, drawn away and drawn in so completely.
The narrator, Maeve, aka Mary Magdalen, is a voluptuous Celtic girl who goes from priestess, to Roman slave and common prostitute, to pagan priestess, to beloved wife of Jesus. Told in the first person, Maeve's voice is an instant and enduring hook—the prose as earthy-real and voluptuous as Maeve herself. And very modern, which bothered me on the first page, but by the second page I realized that Maeve is telling this two thousand year old story from the present—though the mechanism of how that is occurring is never revealed. (There is a sequel.)
I should add here that there is also a prequel and if you wish to read Magdalen Rising and remain unspoiled as to the major plot points, you should probably read that one first. I didn't, so I can't speak as to whether it's the tour de force the second book is, but even though I know the high points of what happened in that story, since finishing Passion, I want to read the first story. Which must be some kind of testament as to how much this book affected me.
Ms. Cunningham manages to honor both the pagan and Judeo-Christian traditions, to meld them so artfully that it seemed incredible that they'd ever been parted. If you are a biblical literalist, perhaps this won't work for you. But it moved me very deeply, left me thinking about it for days after, marveling in the passion play I had just taken part in.
The narrator, Maeve, aka Mary Magdalen, is a voluptuous Celtic girl who goes from priestess, to Roman slave and common prostitute, to pagan priestess, to beloved wife of Jesus. Told in the first person, Maeve's voice is an instant and enduring hook—the prose as earthy-real and voluptuous as Maeve herself. And very modern, which bothered me on the first page, but by the second page I realized that Maeve is telling this two thousand year old story from the present—though the mechanism of how that is occurring is never revealed. (There is a sequel.)
I should add here that there is also a prequel and if you wish to read Magdalen Rising and remain unspoiled as to the major plot points, you should probably read that one first. I didn't, so I can't speak as to whether it's the tour de force the second book is, but even though I know the high points of what happened in that story, since finishing Passion, I want to read the first story. Which must be some kind of testament as to how much this book affected me.
Ms. Cunningham manages to honor both the pagan and Judeo-Christian traditions, to meld them so artfully that it seemed incredible that they'd ever been parted. If you are a biblical literalist, perhaps this won't work for you. But it moved me very deeply, left me thinking about it for days after, marveling in the passion play I had just taken part in.
June 24, 2009
I don't give a lot of five's but this is a book of truly extraordinary delight. It is the story of the Jesus mythos last days told through the eyes of his saucy, celtic/druid reared, Goddess Isis worshipping sacred whore/lover/wife Maeve also known as Mary of Magdala. The book is at times raucous laugh out loud funny and at other times it will break your heart. I loved the humanness as well as the divinity and the rendering of the disciples from thick as a block to plotters, schemers and all the other petty intrigue that goes along with the human conidition. The depiction of the women was truly "divine". I read late and I read early and I was truly sorry to see this book end. Enjoy.
December 31, 2013
I have always hated the fact that Mary Magdalene has been called a prostitute throughout history when she in fact was not one.
That being said, if you completely disconnect this book from the bible, Christianity and Judaism, its a great historical novel about women in ancient times. It is full of sex, passion, sorrow and drama.
The relationship between Jesus and Mary is beautiful. Elizabeth Cunningham manages to describe an infinite love that is grander than just two people.
You will love this book if you liked the Red Tent and the Mists of Avalon.
If you like irreverent tales of Jesus, check out Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
That being said, if you completely disconnect this book from the bible, Christianity and Judaism, its a great historical novel about women in ancient times. It is full of sex, passion, sorrow and drama.
The relationship between Jesus and Mary is beautiful. Elizabeth Cunningham manages to describe an infinite love that is grander than just two people.
You will love this book if you liked the Red Tent and the Mists of Avalon.
If you like irreverent tales of Jesus, check out Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
July 8, 2007
Elizabeth Cunningham's long-awaited sequel to _Daughter of the Shining Isles_ (now sold under a different name), this book follows Maeve in her days as a slave in the Holy Land. Although it's a thick book, I read this in no time at all since I could never put it down. Maeve goes through so much in this story....from slavery to harlotry to sacred/spiritual harlotry...from the depths of despair to being the lover of the Christ (but never quite his unquestioning "follower").
Being of a Christian background, I don't find much fascination in the recent DaVinci Code/biblical questioning. If Cunningham's book series had started with Maeve as the Magdalen in the Holy Lands, I likely would have just passed it by. But this series is absolutely outstanding, and it's fascinating to follow Maeve and her spiritual beliefs, which never waver from a belief and love of the goddess, even as she acknowledges the truth of her lover's words as well.
Being of a Christian background, I don't find much fascination in the recent DaVinci Code/biblical questioning. If Cunningham's book series had started with Maeve as the Magdalen in the Holy Lands, I likely would have just passed it by. But this series is absolutely outstanding, and it's fascinating to follow Maeve and her spiritual beliefs, which never waver from a belief and love of the goddess, even as she acknowledges the truth of her lover's words as well.
April 28, 2020
Celtic spirituality, temple prostitution, and an enlightened view on Jesus’ life - the Passion of Mary Magdalen will take you for a fantastic, visionary ride. Fantastic indeed, the Passion of Mary Magdalen is bold, historical fantasy and requires an equally bold leap of faith.
This applies to the narrative style too. The characters in the story act and talk like modern people and the author likes to intrude. My favorite intrusion: Papal bulls in a china shop. What was Elizabeth thinking? She lets the reader know: Until now I assume I’ve had your willing suspension of disbelief. A Celtic girl encounters the young Jesus at druid school? Unlikely, perhaps, but fun. Yep, you can read her joy between the lines.
Jesus did many more things and there is not enough space in the world to write it all down. - John 21:25. Likely, he did those things during the lost years. Elizabeth mused that he ventured to the land of the Celts and fell in love with Maeve, a Celtic Priestess he met at druid school. Elizabeth Cunningham is a brave author.
The first part of the Passion of Mary Magdalen relates Maeve’s adventure after fate tore the two lovers apart. She was taken to Rome and sold into slavery - prostitution that is. After a few urban adventures, she was set free and ventured to Galilee to find Jesus. In Magdala, she took on the name Mary Magdalen, founded a temple in the honor of the Egyptian goddess Isis, and introduced therapeutic prostitution to the devout region.
Elizabeth is relentless in her effort to redeem the oldest profession on the planet. Rightly so. We still need a change of attitude towards sex and, consequently, prostitution. Don’t judge a woman before you walked in her high heels for a moon. Reading this book spares you from that.
Elizabeth’s point: Some rich and powerful men turn back. This is not their idea of a whorehouse where they are accustomed to paying for (the illusion of) control. To become the god-bearing stranger, the suppliant must surrender, forget who he is in the world, be naked as he was at birth. When he leaves everything behind but himself, the whore-priestess leads him to a hot spring. She bathes him from head to toe. She anoints him with warm, fragrant oils. And here is our mystery, our surrender: to know that each stranger is the beloved of Isis. Through us she will know him, love him, heal him. Always it is when I touch the stranger’s feet that she becomes fully present in me; there is no more distinction between goddess and priestess. And I know something more. For it is my own beloved’s feet that I picture most clearly when I think of him. It is his feet that walk beside me in my dreams, his feet, brown as earth, beautiful as the flight of birds. In the feet of every god-bearing stranger I remember him whom my soul loves. When I open myself to the goddess, he is restored to me again in the stranger’s embrace.
While I agree that we should return prostitution to a respectable profession, I don’t believe that something like temple prostitution existed. If priests and priestesses performed sex in sacred spaces, the purpose was enlightenment, not therapy or satisfaction.
Sexuality is an expression, the expression of a (secret) force. This force, which curses through our meridian and nervous system, also regenerates - that’s where therapy comes in - and fuels mental activities like thinking, dreaming, and meditation.
This creative-organic-mental force is sacred. It is the organic manifestation of the Divine Mojo with which the Godness created the multiverse. Sacred sex aims at the sublimation of this force and avoids orgasm at all costs. The latter would spill that precious energy onto the earth - the enlightened meaning of Onan’s allegory. The technicalities: Performers of sacred sex resonate the vibes of their creative forces to boost their amplitudes. At the peak of collaborative vibrancy, they enter stillness (Samadhi) and a higher state of mind, a state they couldn’t achieve by solitaire meditation. Kamasutra still preserves some of that ancient tradition.
Elizabeth dedicated the second part of the Passion of Mary Magdalen to Jesus’ mission and Maeve’s involvement in his miracles. In the context of religion, Jesus was the great exception, in the context of enlightenment (Visionary Fiction), he was the great example. How did Jesus Nazareth turn into Jesus Christ? Good question. The gospel is dead silent on that subject, Elizabeth Cunningham rather outspoken.
You will need to re-suspend your disbelieve in these chapters. Spoiler alert: Maeve shape-shifted into the dove that descended from the sky during Jesus’ baptismal, she calmed the stormy sea, and she healed the tree Jesus cursed.
I don’t think it matters whether Elizabeth is right or wrong. The effort matters. Her efforts are one of many contemporary attempts to reclaim the lost, better half of religion, which changed, two thousand years ago from a beautiful mystery into a manly, scholastic debate (and instrument of war). Religion has been a bit of a dick and we need more women like Elizabeth to do something about that.
This applies to the narrative style too. The characters in the story act and talk like modern people and the author likes to intrude. My favorite intrusion: Papal bulls in a china shop. What was Elizabeth thinking? She lets the reader know: Until now I assume I’ve had your willing suspension of disbelief. A Celtic girl encounters the young Jesus at druid school? Unlikely, perhaps, but fun. Yep, you can read her joy between the lines.
Jesus did many more things and there is not enough space in the world to write it all down. - John 21:25. Likely, he did those things during the lost years. Elizabeth mused that he ventured to the land of the Celts and fell in love with Maeve, a Celtic Priestess he met at druid school. Elizabeth Cunningham is a brave author.
The first part of the Passion of Mary Magdalen relates Maeve’s adventure after fate tore the two lovers apart. She was taken to Rome and sold into slavery - prostitution that is. After a few urban adventures, she was set free and ventured to Galilee to find Jesus. In Magdala, she took on the name Mary Magdalen, founded a temple in the honor of the Egyptian goddess Isis, and introduced therapeutic prostitution to the devout region.
Elizabeth is relentless in her effort to redeem the oldest profession on the planet. Rightly so. We still need a change of attitude towards sex and, consequently, prostitution. Don’t judge a woman before you walked in her high heels for a moon. Reading this book spares you from that.
Elizabeth’s point: Some rich and powerful men turn back. This is not their idea of a whorehouse where they are accustomed to paying for (the illusion of) control. To become the god-bearing stranger, the suppliant must surrender, forget who he is in the world, be naked as he was at birth. When he leaves everything behind but himself, the whore-priestess leads him to a hot spring. She bathes him from head to toe. She anoints him with warm, fragrant oils. And here is our mystery, our surrender: to know that each stranger is the beloved of Isis. Through us she will know him, love him, heal him. Always it is when I touch the stranger’s feet that she becomes fully present in me; there is no more distinction between goddess and priestess. And I know something more. For it is my own beloved’s feet that I picture most clearly when I think of him. It is his feet that walk beside me in my dreams, his feet, brown as earth, beautiful as the flight of birds. In the feet of every god-bearing stranger I remember him whom my soul loves. When I open myself to the goddess, he is restored to me again in the stranger’s embrace.
While I agree that we should return prostitution to a respectable profession, I don’t believe that something like temple prostitution existed. If priests and priestesses performed sex in sacred spaces, the purpose was enlightenment, not therapy or satisfaction.
Sexuality is an expression, the expression of a (secret) force. This force, which curses through our meridian and nervous system, also regenerates - that’s where therapy comes in - and fuels mental activities like thinking, dreaming, and meditation.
This creative-organic-mental force is sacred. It is the organic manifestation of the Divine Mojo with which the Godness created the multiverse. Sacred sex aims at the sublimation of this force and avoids orgasm at all costs. The latter would spill that precious energy onto the earth - the enlightened meaning of Onan’s allegory. The technicalities: Performers of sacred sex resonate the vibes of their creative forces to boost their amplitudes. At the peak of collaborative vibrancy, they enter stillness (Samadhi) and a higher state of mind, a state they couldn’t achieve by solitaire meditation. Kamasutra still preserves some of that ancient tradition.
Elizabeth dedicated the second part of the Passion of Mary Magdalen to Jesus’ mission and Maeve’s involvement in his miracles. In the context of religion, Jesus was the great exception, in the context of enlightenment (Visionary Fiction), he was the great example. How did Jesus Nazareth turn into Jesus Christ? Good question. The gospel is dead silent on that subject, Elizabeth Cunningham rather outspoken.
You will need to re-suspend your disbelieve in these chapters. Spoiler alert: Maeve shape-shifted into the dove that descended from the sky during Jesus’ baptismal, she calmed the stormy sea, and she healed the tree Jesus cursed.
I don’t think it matters whether Elizabeth is right or wrong. The effort matters. Her efforts are one of many contemporary attempts to reclaim the lost, better half of religion, which changed, two thousand years ago from a beautiful mystery into a manly, scholastic debate (and instrument of war). Religion has been a bit of a dick and we need more women like Elizabeth to do something about that.
September 24, 2023
=16 December 2021=
Read it in paperback, read it in digital...I've probably read it yearly for the last fourteen!
I can't think of anything specific off the top of my head in terms of criticisms—outside of my usual nitpicks, that is.
Sure, there are parts that I skip, but that's because I simply don't like them, not that they're bad writing. Just like I don't give much energy to the rest of the series: this is my favorite and I don't really care otherwise.
Okay, nitpicks!
~*~
• Women weren't permitted to wear toga after 2 BCE, so Domitia "flouting [some] law" that said she had to is...well, this probably isn't grammatically correct, but it's stercore tauri. (Elizabeth never says what year it is, but the fact that Tiberius is on the throne means it's definitely after two, as he didn't become emperor until 14 CE.)
• Maeve says slaves and freedmen aren't allowed to buy seats, but nothing is said about who did the purchasing. It was obviously Domitia or Anecius, as the box office (or whatever passed for one back then) would know that the ladies were slaves by their "hot pink" togas and refused the sale for fear of the aedile's wrath. Domitia isn't ignoring another law, because there's nothing mentioned about "senators' daughters who register as prostitutes" not being able to get tickets. (Probably Anecius, since the invitation to the races was part of the party for his son.)
• An ab admissione's job was to decide who was admitted into his master's presence and when—sort of like a bouncer. At least that's what Empress Livia's admissione did, according to the book I found on JSTOR. (I know Elizabeth used a different slave reference for this book, so it could be conflicting information.) The slave whose title translated to "butler" was the cellarius.
• A vomitorium was the passageway beneath and behind the seats in places like the coliseum—what we might call a concourse. I'm guessing the misnomer got started because of what it sounds like it's for? (That and the word for the verb/noun is vomitus, if Google is correct.)
=23 Dec=
• The mysterious disappearing nephew. I waited too long to post this so I don't remember the exact details, but I find it interesting that the story mentions Paulina's nephew, then there was something that made it sound like she had no nephew, then there's another mention of him after the Nemi fiasco.
• Vesta in Diana's Country. Something was mentioned about Maeve (or someone) trespassing in the sacred wood and angering the Vestals.
Why would the Vestals care about the woods outside Diana's temple? True, they were instrumental to Roman civic functions*, but again, Diana's temple, Diana's woods, Diana's rules.
• Maeve's mothers. She was sold into slavery, , she has magical beings (who were probably goddesses, based on their names) for a mother and guardians...and none of them intervened? Ever? Seems like they were just plot devices for the first book, and once they left her at Mona, that was it.
[*If there was a College of Vestals at every major Roman outpost, it stands to reason that there was one in Jerusalem. So if Jesus was real, why didn't the Virgo Vestalis Maxima intervene? (Actually, I believe all Vestals have that power.) Did Pontius Pilatus tell them to stand down, or was the involvement of pagan priestesses simply unsuitable for the story that the gospellers were attempting to tell?]
=27 Dec=
Joseph said something about no man in Upper Galilee would marry Mary B, but Nazareth is in Lower Galilee.
=4 Jan 22=
=24 Sep 23=
I have to re-read this review each time to ensure I'm not repeating myself. This time, I came with three things and discovered one was already here.
• There's a point shortly after Paulina buys Maeve where she says, "By Hestia!" Why would a Roman invoke Hestia? (She obviously didn't have any Greek tutors to influence her like that, because Maeve says later on that Paulina can't read Greek.)
• Time seems to have run a great deal more slowly for Paulina than it did for Maeve. It just seems really weird.
Read it in paperback, read it in digital...I've probably read it yearly for the last fourteen!
I can't think of anything specific off the top of my head in terms of criticisms—outside of my usual nitpicks, that is.
Sure, there are parts that I skip, but that's because I simply don't like them, not that they're bad writing. Just like I don't give much energy to the rest of the series: this is my favorite and I don't really care otherwise.
Okay, nitpicks!
~*~
• Women weren't permitted to wear toga after 2 BCE, so Domitia "flouting [some] law" that said she had to is...well, this probably isn't grammatically correct, but it's stercore tauri. (Elizabeth never says what year it is, but the fact that Tiberius is on the throne means it's definitely after two, as he didn't become emperor until 14 CE.)
• Maeve says slaves and freedmen aren't allowed to buy seats, but nothing is said about who did the purchasing. It was obviously Domitia or Anecius, as the box office (or whatever passed for one back then) would know that the ladies were slaves by their "hot pink" togas and refused the sale for fear of the aedile's wrath. Domitia isn't ignoring another law, because there's nothing mentioned about "senators' daughters who register as prostitutes" not being able to get tickets. (Probably Anecius, since the invitation to the races was part of the party for his son.)
• An ab admissione's job was to decide who was admitted into his master's presence and when—sort of like a bouncer. At least that's what Empress Livia's admissione did, according to the book I found on JSTOR. (I know Elizabeth used a different slave reference for this book, so it could be conflicting information.) The slave whose title translated to "butler" was the cellarius.
• A vomitorium was the passageway beneath and behind the seats in places like the coliseum—what we might call a concourse. I'm guessing the misnomer got started because of what it sounds like it's for? (That and the word for the verb/noun is vomitus, if Google is correct.)
=23 Dec=
• The mysterious disappearing nephew. I waited too long to post this so I don't remember the exact details, but I find it interesting that the story mentions Paulina's nephew, then there was something that made it sound like she had no nephew, then there's another mention of him after the Nemi fiasco.
• Vesta in Diana's Country. Something was mentioned about Maeve (or someone) trespassing in the sacred wood and angering the Vestals.
Why would the Vestals care about the woods outside Diana's temple? True, they were instrumental to Roman civic functions*, but again, Diana's temple, Diana's woods, Diana's rules.
• Maeve's mothers. She was sold into slavery, , she has magical beings (who were probably goddesses, based on their names) for a mother and guardians...and none of them intervened? Ever? Seems like they were just plot devices for the first book, and once they left her at Mona, that was it.
[*If there was a College of Vestals at every major Roman outpost, it stands to reason that there was one in Jerusalem. So if Jesus was real, why didn't the Virgo Vestalis Maxima intervene? (Actually, I believe all Vestals have that power.) Did Pontius Pilatus tell them to stand down, or was the involvement of pagan priestesses simply unsuitable for the story that the gospellers were attempting to tell?]
=27 Dec=
Joseph said something about no man in Upper Galilee would marry Mary B, but Nazareth is in Lower Galilee.
=4 Jan 22=
=24 Sep 23=
I have to re-read this review each time to ensure I'm not repeating myself. This time, I came with three things and discovered one was already here.
• There's a point shortly after Paulina buys Maeve where she says, "By Hestia!" Why would a Roman invoke Hestia? (She obviously didn't have any Greek tutors to influence her like that, because Maeve says later on that Paulina can't read Greek.)
• Time seems to have run a great deal more slowly for Paulina than it did for Maeve. It just seems really weird.
July 13, 2017
Against my better judgement: 4 stars, because (a) she did her homework and (b) was wildly imaginative. The tone is romance-novel with tongue-in-cheek (or not) and her sentences are often clichés. I just finished Mary Karr’s Lit, which is so beautifully written that I kept reading sentences aloud to anyone who would listen. In the first 200 pages of The Passion of Mary Magdalen, I read aloud sentences because they were so bad.
And yet. Her imagined Mary Magdalene is at her best taking on well known Biblical episodes from a different perspective. Not one rang false, except perhaps the very last one. I had hoped for more, more of what this means to say that Jesus is Risen and alive in our lives.
And yet. Her imagined Mary Magdalene is at her best taking on well known Biblical episodes from a different perspective. Not one rang false, except perhaps the very last one. I had hoped for more, more of what this means to say that Jesus is Risen and alive in our lives.
September 11, 2012
Elizabeth Cunningham, descendant of nine (9) generations of Episcopal priests, knows whereof she speaks in all things biblical. My impression of this author is that she literally ate, drank, slept and breathed Bible stories from birth—no from conception. And, rather than hew to the party line, so to speak, she listened for the voice of the women in these tales and found them missing. In THE PASSION OF MARY MAGDALEN, Ms. Cunningham gave Mary Magdalen and the other two Marys of the New Testament, not only voices, but brains, bodies, spirituality and backstories.
This is the second in the Maeve Chronicles, but you do not have to read the books in order. The author provides an excellent summary of the first book in a non-intrusive manner. She gives the reader enough information to understand where we are as the story begins and weaves in more later. I never felt lost reading the story. I felt as if I was firmly anchored in Mary’s point of view throughout the book, in large part because of the author’s skillful use of the first person.
We know from the New Testament that Mary Magdalen was a prostitute; what we don’t know is where she came from, why she was in that occupation, and what her relationship was to Yeshua, aka Jesus. The first half of this book tells us about Mary’s life as a prostitute and takes place in Rome. Born a Celt named Maeve, she escaped certain death in her home country, only to be captured by a tribe intent on using her as a breeding vessel. She escapes again, only to be drugged by the sea captain. The book opens with her in an open air market in Rome where her captor is extolling her wares. Stripped, poked and prodded in the public setting, she maintains her Celtic backbone and lives up to her bright red hair by cursing the man in three different languages. Amused by her antics and intrigued by her body and brain, the brothel owner and madam knows a good value when she sees one and buys Maeve.
Maeve becomes a craftsman at her trade, taking pride in her work as a whore. Sought after by generals, senators and wealthy land holders, she becomes a favorite of the patrons and the other women in the brothel. The only problem is she isn’t just a worker bee; she’s also a priestess of Isis and strange, supernatural things happen around her at inexplicable times. It is a bawdy, fun, gripping read and the details of daily life in 1st Century Rome are seamlessly woven in without becoming a history lecture. I felt as if I was there at the feasts and in the Temple of Isis. Throughout it all, Maeve never forgets the young man she fell in love with in her home country: Esus.
The second half of the book takes place in Jerusalem, Israel, where Maeve has taken up residence after a series of misadventures in Rome and being bought, sold and finally released into the wild. Setting up a Temple of Isis in a Jewish country occupied by Romans is not an easy affair. While she has financial backing from Joseph of Arimathea, support from some of her fellow whores from the Roman brothel, and a flair for finding hidden sacred springs, she still has to stay under the radar of the religious and Roman dictators. True to her profession and her calling, her temple is offers healing and sexual services, for men and barren women. Between cleaning up an old estate and vineyards, she visits the Temple searching for any sign, any word of Esus. Here the author excels in providing the reader with insights into the people of the day, including the larger than life figures in the New Testament. She also gives us a window into the era’s religious practices, including animal sacrifices, and gives us an idea of how power can corrupt all, even those who claim to act on behalf of Yahweh. Everyone has an agenda in Jerusalem, and the only ones in charge with swords and spears are the Romans.
I won’t spoil the story for you, let me just say that if you want to see, smell, taste, hear and touch that era from the eyes of a very important woman in our collective history, I highly recommend this book.
This is the second in the Maeve Chronicles, but you do not have to read the books in order. The author provides an excellent summary of the first book in a non-intrusive manner. She gives the reader enough information to understand where we are as the story begins and weaves in more later. I never felt lost reading the story. I felt as if I was firmly anchored in Mary’s point of view throughout the book, in large part because of the author’s skillful use of the first person.
We know from the New Testament that Mary Magdalen was a prostitute; what we don’t know is where she came from, why she was in that occupation, and what her relationship was to Yeshua, aka Jesus. The first half of this book tells us about Mary’s life as a prostitute and takes place in Rome. Born a Celt named Maeve, she escaped certain death in her home country, only to be captured by a tribe intent on using her as a breeding vessel. She escapes again, only to be drugged by the sea captain. The book opens with her in an open air market in Rome where her captor is extolling her wares. Stripped, poked and prodded in the public setting, she maintains her Celtic backbone and lives up to her bright red hair by cursing the man in three different languages. Amused by her antics and intrigued by her body and brain, the brothel owner and madam knows a good value when she sees one and buys Maeve.
Maeve becomes a craftsman at her trade, taking pride in her work as a whore. Sought after by generals, senators and wealthy land holders, she becomes a favorite of the patrons and the other women in the brothel. The only problem is she isn’t just a worker bee; she’s also a priestess of Isis and strange, supernatural things happen around her at inexplicable times. It is a bawdy, fun, gripping read and the details of daily life in 1st Century Rome are seamlessly woven in without becoming a history lecture. I felt as if I was there at the feasts and in the Temple of Isis. Throughout it all, Maeve never forgets the young man she fell in love with in her home country: Esus.
The second half of the book takes place in Jerusalem, Israel, where Maeve has taken up residence after a series of misadventures in Rome and being bought, sold and finally released into the wild. Setting up a Temple of Isis in a Jewish country occupied by Romans is not an easy affair. While she has financial backing from Joseph of Arimathea, support from some of her fellow whores from the Roman brothel, and a flair for finding hidden sacred springs, she still has to stay under the radar of the religious and Roman dictators. True to her profession and her calling, her temple is offers healing and sexual services, for men and barren women. Between cleaning up an old estate and vineyards, she visits the Temple searching for any sign, any word of Esus. Here the author excels in providing the reader with insights into the people of the day, including the larger than life figures in the New Testament. She also gives us a window into the era’s religious practices, including animal sacrifices, and gives us an idea of how power can corrupt all, even those who claim to act on behalf of Yahweh. Everyone has an agenda in Jerusalem, and the only ones in charge with swords and spears are the Romans.
I won’t spoil the story for you, let me just say that if you want to see, smell, taste, hear and touch that era from the eyes of a very important woman in our collective history, I highly recommend this book.
July 1, 2013
Earlier this year I read the prequel to this novel and absolutely loved it. Something I can’t say all together about this part of the series. Don’t get me wrong, I still like the story and Maeve is still het witty, feisty, funny and dramatic. The writing is still amazing and the authors family background with 9 generations of Episcopal priests shows all through the writing.
So with didn’t I like about this book? Well the first 60% of the book. It took forever before Jesus showed up and we really got going on the whole passion-story. And that was actually what I was looking for. Not that I did not care about Maeves adventures in Rome. But it could have been shorter. Now you have the main part of the book handling about her whoring days in Rome and then the last part about her being Jesus companion. The last part feels like it is rushed. We sweep through their time together at a dazzling rate.
I actually love some of the ideas that are worked out in this novel. The similarities about Mary of Magdala and Jesus and the story of Isis and Osiris. (It is something a read about in the past and it is worth a further investigation.) I also like some of the explanations given about certain biblical events. And also the relationship development between Maeve and Peter, the rock of the church.
There were also few things I had trouble with comprehending. I just can’t imagine a smart girl like Maeve who was brought op as a free woman, who follows her heart more than anything, would put up with so much crape as Jesus puts her thought. I just can’t see Mary (the mother of Jesus) as a lack witted woman.
Basically I loved that she stepped away from the classic tale, cause the biblical version just doesn’t bring any justice to Mary Magdalene. But sometimes she (for me ) went a step to far.
So with didn’t I like about this book? Well the first 60% of the book. It took forever before Jesus showed up and we really got going on the whole passion-story. And that was actually what I was looking for. Not that I did not care about Maeves adventures in Rome. But it could have been shorter. Now you have the main part of the book handling about her whoring days in Rome and then the last part about her being Jesus companion. The last part feels like it is rushed. We sweep through their time together at a dazzling rate.
I actually love some of the ideas that are worked out in this novel. The similarities about Mary of Magdala and Jesus and the story of Isis and Osiris. (It is something a read about in the past and it is worth a further investigation.) I also like some of the explanations given about certain biblical events. And also the relationship development between Maeve and Peter, the rock of the church.
There were also few things I had trouble with comprehending. I just can’t imagine a smart girl like Maeve who was brought op as a free woman, who follows her heart more than anything, would put up with so much crape as Jesus puts her thought. I just can’t see Mary (the mother of Jesus) as a lack witted woman.
Basically I loved that she stepped away from the classic tale, cause the biblical version just doesn’t bring any justice to Mary Magdalene. But sometimes she (for me ) went a step to far.
December 31, 2014
I started this book with mixed feelings, and I'm very glad I finished it.
Considering I loved Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore, which many find blasphemous I was surprised that I found the book jolting, but in the end moving.
Maeve Rhuad, who becomes Mary Magdalen, is a Celt warrior goddess. I didn't read the first volume of the Chronicles, where she meets Jesus, and then is cast away, where she is captured, becomes a Roman slave. In this volume, she is sold to a woman who runs a whore-house, becomes a prostitute, then a slave to a spoiled Roman woman, a holy Priestess/prostitute of Isis, and finally the wife of Jesus. Maeve tells her story to us (meaning current audiences) in our language, holding nothing back, and with wit.
I felt unnerved by the raw sexuality and paganism at times, but at others (especially as it came to the story leading to Christ's crucifixion) incredibly moved in a way that surprised me. The author is descended from 9 generations of Episcopilian priests, and is an ordained interfaith minister. She has a wicked (and I mean that in many different contexts) imagination. The big thing that made me give this a higher rating - at the end of the book, she moved me, and made me curious to learn more about Mary of Magdala, and perhaps gave me another way to view what will eventually become more of my spiritual journey. Nice book to end the year with.
Considering I loved Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore, which many find blasphemous I was surprised that I found the book jolting, but in the end moving.
Maeve Rhuad, who becomes Mary Magdalen, is a Celt warrior goddess. I didn't read the first volume of the Chronicles, where she meets Jesus, and then is cast away, where she is captured, becomes a Roman slave. In this volume, she is sold to a woman who runs a whore-house, becomes a prostitute, then a slave to a spoiled Roman woman, a holy Priestess/prostitute of Isis, and finally the wife of Jesus. Maeve tells her story to us (meaning current audiences) in our language, holding nothing back, and with wit.
I felt unnerved by the raw sexuality and paganism at times, but at others (especially as it came to the story leading to Christ's crucifixion) incredibly moved in a way that surprised me. The author is descended from 9 generations of Episcopilian priests, and is an ordained interfaith minister. She has a wicked (and I mean that in many different contexts) imagination. The big thing that made me give this a higher rating - at the end of the book, she moved me, and made me curious to learn more about Mary of Magdala, and perhaps gave me another way to view what will eventually become more of my spiritual journey. Nice book to end the year with.
November 25, 2014
The whole Maeve Chronicles series is superlative, highly recommended, one of my favorites. I would recommend it for fans of strong women, Celtic fantasy, Biblical reinterpretation, myth and magic, Goddess fiction, the Mists of Avalon. In a nutshell, Mary Magdalen is re-visioned as a Celtic ex-pat and Jesus' wife, a magical and strong and sometimes foolish woman, and her tale spans the course of four well-researched and well-written books. Written with cheek and humor and glory and beauty, all at once.
In Book Two, The Passion of Mary Magdalen, Maeve journeys to Rome as a slave and whore, makes friends, searches for Jesus, is claimed as a priestess of Isis, winds up in more myth and legend, founds a temple of sacred prostitution, and is reunited with her love. This book intersects with the stories of the Bible most closely - Jesus as he spreads his message and develops followers, his companions, his mother Miriam and the angels that speak to her, breaking bread with all kinds, the last supper, the cross, the morning after - but all from Maeve's perspective, how she sees it, where her version contradicts the version that was written down. Jesus is a man, a good one, but not perfect, which I think is a great way to think of him.
There is some sexual violence in this book, in part memory, in part not.
In Book Two, The Passion of Mary Magdalen, Maeve journeys to Rome as a slave and whore, makes friends, searches for Jesus, is claimed as a priestess of Isis, winds up in more myth and legend, founds a temple of sacred prostitution, and is reunited with her love. This book intersects with the stories of the Bible most closely - Jesus as he spreads his message and develops followers, his companions, his mother Miriam and the angels that speak to her, breaking bread with all kinds, the last supper, the cross, the morning after - but all from Maeve's perspective, how she sees it, where her version contradicts the version that was written down. Jesus is a man, a good one, but not perfect, which I think is a great way to think of him.
There is some sexual violence in this book, in part memory, in part not.
January 2, 2009
I really liked this book. It's one of my favorite readings of the character of Mary Magdalen, aka Maeve, the goddess-worshipping Celt. She's feisty, tough, omnisexual, and just as magical as Jesus. She has serious reservations about Yahweh, but she's crazy about Jesus, so she manages to (mostly) go along with his agenda.
I'm not a huge fan of retellings of the Jesus story, but this is definitely one of the best of the genre. It's well-written, with every character distinct and interesting. It's a ripping good story, a great beach read but with some serious undertones. It's well-researched, & has a good grip on ancient history. It's pro-woman, pro-earth & pro-pleasure. I do recommend it.
I'm not a huge fan of retellings of the Jesus story, but this is definitely one of the best of the genre. It's well-written, with every character distinct and interesting. It's a ripping good story, a great beach read but with some serious undertones. It's well-researched, & has a good grip on ancient history. It's pro-woman, pro-earth & pro-pleasure. I do recommend it.
May 15, 2012
If you were to mix "Lamb" by Christopher Moore and an epic like "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley, the result would be Cunningham's "The Passion of Mary Magdalen". Amazing. The best book I've read this year by far.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
July 31, 2008
Not a biblical tale.
September 20, 2008
epic. not christian.
April 5, 2009
I love this book! It is seriously controversial. It is a huge read. I actually have a copy signed by the author!
November 14, 2023
The Gospel according to a Celtic Priestess of Isis
From this improbable title comes the story of Maeve, a Celtic princess born on an island of nine women all of whom she considered her mothers (See Book 1). In this second book, Maeve finds herself far from home being sold as a slave in Rome. Purchased by a brothel madam/owner, she is trained into a life as a sex worker which she imagines will be her lot for life. But Maeve is not a conventional Roman slave. Reared to become a queen, she comes with a wild temperament, a fierce sense of independence, a Druid education, and knowledge of spiritual realities far beyond what most people can imagine much less know.
There's a love story too of an enchanting boy she met at school who she sees as part of her destiny. How young Jesus of Nazareth got into the Celtic world astounds us, but of course a large section of his life between age twelve and his late 20s is not recorded in Christian scripture, so anything could be possible.
We foĺlow Maeve from adventures in Rome to Jerusalem with her new slave owner, a narcissistic, petulant young Roman princess.
Outside of the holy city, Maeve opens her own temple of Isis and lives according to her own healing religion while renewing her friendship with Jesus.
Lest the reader anticipate piety and traditional Christian moral behaviour, I caution you that you may find yourself upset, as most of the women in this story relate more to Isis than to the Christian God.
Jesus, a beautiful man, spends his earthly life bewildered about what he is called to do. He is not a person who has it all figured out even though he's understood in the Christian faith as prince and later king. Like all humans he must struggle and keep faith as he finds his way. Needless to say, the couple runs into conflict via their very different cultures and views of life which is fascinating and at times hilarious.
This book offers one feminist's imaginative, ficticious perspective on what might have really happened to Mary Magdalene and Jesus before Christian scripture was written and edited over centuries by men.
It is shocking, enthralling and very irreverent (from traditional Christian perspective). The author is talented, imaginative, very knowledgeable about the cultures in which her characters inhabit, and gives readers open to the unexpected much fodder for contemplation.
From this improbable title comes the story of Maeve, a Celtic princess born on an island of nine women all of whom she considered her mothers (See Book 1). In this second book, Maeve finds herself far from home being sold as a slave in Rome. Purchased by a brothel madam/owner, she is trained into a life as a sex worker which she imagines will be her lot for life. But Maeve is not a conventional Roman slave. Reared to become a queen, she comes with a wild temperament, a fierce sense of independence, a Druid education, and knowledge of spiritual realities far beyond what most people can imagine much less know.
There's a love story too of an enchanting boy she met at school who she sees as part of her destiny. How young Jesus of Nazareth got into the Celtic world astounds us, but of course a large section of his life between age twelve and his late 20s is not recorded in Christian scripture, so anything could be possible.
We foĺlow Maeve from adventures in Rome to Jerusalem with her new slave owner, a narcissistic, petulant young Roman princess.
Outside of the holy city, Maeve opens her own temple of Isis and lives according to her own healing religion while renewing her friendship with Jesus.
Lest the reader anticipate piety and traditional Christian moral behaviour, I caution you that you may find yourself upset, as most of the women in this story relate more to Isis than to the Christian God.
Jesus, a beautiful man, spends his earthly life bewildered about what he is called to do. He is not a person who has it all figured out even though he's understood in the Christian faith as prince and later king. Like all humans he must struggle and keep faith as he finds his way. Needless to say, the couple runs into conflict via their very different cultures and views of life which is fascinating and at times hilarious.
This book offers one feminist's imaginative, ficticious perspective on what might have really happened to Mary Magdalene and Jesus before Christian scripture was written and edited over centuries by men.
It is shocking, enthralling and very irreverent (from traditional Christian perspective). The author is talented, imaginative, very knowledgeable about the cultures in which her characters inhabit, and gives readers open to the unexpected much fodder for contemplation.
September 27, 2019
Just not my thing. #2 of the Maeve Chronicles. I didn't read #1. Which is not a very good starting point. I was in the library trolling the stacks and this book caught my eye. Why I stopped? I just spent too much time trying to separate reality from make believe. Life is exhausting as it is. Anyway, I was on page 442 of 620 when I put it down promising to just return it to the library.
The author pulled together some accurate factual history with humor from our lifetime ("on page 438 on the eve of the wedding of Jesus and Mary Magdalen, a conversation between Mary of Bethany and Mary of Magdalen ends with Mary of B walking away. Mary of M says in thought 'leaving me alone at my own party, which was, damn-it-all, mine, and I would cry if I wanted to." See It's my Party by Leslie Gore song from 1963.
It is historical fiction. A story of the relationship between Jesus "the Bridegroom" and Mary of Magdalen, a red head "beautiful witch from the Isle of Women" who was sold into prostitution in Rome.
Enough of that. Maybe you will find it more enjoyable.
The author pulled together some accurate factual history with humor from our lifetime ("on page 438 on the eve of the wedding of Jesus and Mary Magdalen, a conversation between Mary of Bethany and Mary of Magdalen ends with Mary of B walking away. Mary of M says in thought 'leaving me alone at my own party, which was, damn-it-all, mine, and I would cry if I wanted to." See It's my Party by Leslie Gore song from 1963.
It is historical fiction. A story of the relationship between Jesus "the Bridegroom" and Mary of Magdalen, a red head "beautiful witch from the Isle of Women" who was sold into prostitution in Rome.
Enough of that. Maybe you will find it more enjoyable.
August 10, 2017
I listened to the Audio book.
I am mourning the end of this book. The actress reading the book was Mary Magdalena. She was the accent that belongs with the character.
The story is told in first person and she is talking to the reader in modern time about life back then. So she uses phrases with comments saying "well what he really said doesn't translate well into modern English but it's equivalent is ______."
It shows a possible back story for the woman who knew Jesus possibly in a more the biblical sense.
I would make a nun read this book.
Slightly racy in the sexuality sense. She describes herself as a whore priestess, so sex is talked about.
I am mourning the end of this book. The actress reading the book was Mary Magdalena. She was the accent that belongs with the character.
The story is told in first person and she is talking to the reader in modern time about life back then. So she uses phrases with comments saying "well what he really said doesn't translate well into modern English but it's equivalent is ______."
It shows a possible back story for the woman who knew Jesus possibly in a more the biblical sense.
I would make a nun read this book.
Slightly racy in the sexuality sense. She describes herself as a whore priestess, so sex is talked about.
April 12, 2021
Wow. This book, this journey is truly an amazing one. From the first page of the prequel to this book, I was unsure and frankly put off by the many anachronisms and modern-language. However, Cunningham's writing, plot pacing, and character development is some of the finest I've ever read. This book is empowering, beautiful, funny, and tragically sad. Yet at the same time it leaves you with a feeling of light and hopefulness that I haven't experienced from a book or a series in a very long time.
February 18, 2023
If you liked “Mists of Avalon”, you’ll like this book and the first of “The Maeve Chronicles”. Think Guenevere’s luscious, free thinking, wild sister embarked on a different mission away from the islands of their ancestors into a hard, unapologetic world where men rule with ignorance and haughtiness. Maeve is the embodiment of wrapped brass and gold dust. She’s hard and soft, sweet and sour. And she is Jesus’ soulmate and equal. It’s a suspected story not told. Read the 1st book first.
August 23, 2023
In the sequel to "Magdalen Rising", she tells the story of how she became a sacred prostitute, how she found her way back to Jesus and how she was his companion until the moment of his rising into the heavens.
This is really written in a way that covers all senses, really indulgent in this way, but it is at the same time also deeply raw and emotional.
From both a religious stance and a symbolical stance, I found it to be a masterpiece of storytelling.
This is really written in a way that covers all senses, really indulgent in this way, but it is at the same time also deeply raw and emotional.
From both a religious stance and a symbolical stance, I found it to be a masterpiece of storytelling.
January 22, 2022
Maeve's story continues with a prolonged stay in first century Rome (about half the book) before finally finding a way to make it to Palestine. I found myself getting impatient for a while, wishing the second part of the story to come sooner. I now see this probably matches Maeve's own desire to reconnect with her beloved. In hindsight I also really enjoyed the depth and explorations of the first part of the story with this period of history coming to life and getting insight into the Isis cult also being present in Rome at this time. And I love that the relationship between Maeve/Mary and Yeshua/Jesus/Esus isn't all love and divinity - there's human disagreements and two people who care for each other deeply complementing each other as the wisdom they carry within, each from their own feminine/masculine and different cultural backgrounds, brings forth divinity as it unfolds.
July 10, 2017
A friend recommended this book to me last summer. Half way through this first book, I knew I would have to read the entire series. I ordered them all in hardback so I can revisit them. They may be considered fiction, but the imagery, historical settings and characters resonated with me deeply.
December 25, 2020
Long. Really long. Would have preferred if the volume was in two separate tomes. But good. Very good. The alternative world expands and includes many of the various sorrows and transgressions women endure. Tough read.
June 15, 2022
After not liking the first book, I forced myself to try this one since it’s the popular one in the series. I thought maybe this one would be better. But no. I’m sure some people really enjoy this series but the writing style is simply not for me at all.
October 3, 2017
An amazing story and a beautifully written book. Highly recommend.
October 1, 2018
review to come
December 6, 2018
love this book. love the series
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