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The Madonna Secret

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The Madonna Secret

By: Sophie Strand
Narrated by: Sophie Strand
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About this listen

 • Reroots Mary Magdalene and Jesus in the lush ecology and complex spiritual culture of Second Temple Period Judea and Galilee under Roman rule

• Rewilds the Gospels with the forgotten voices of defiant and oppressed women, the nature-based storytelling of oral communities, and the embodied eroticism of a lovable rabbi with appetites and desires, doubts and shame, and a playful sense of humor

• Retells a familiar narrative informed by extensive research in botany and ecology, scriptural analysis, feminist studies, and the mythic traditions of the Mediterranean

When Leukas, a Christian convert, ventures into the wilds of Gaul to receive the hidden teachings from Mary Magdalene before she dies, he discovers that hidden within the Gospels he thinks he knows is an epic love story—between an educated Jewish woman overwhelmed by her mysterious spiritual powers and a sensual magician devoted to the wisdom of the earth. The secrets she will reveal are both more shocking and more tragic than anything readers have encountered before.

Beginning with Miriam’s childhood as a member of a wealthy Jewish family living outside of Bethany, we see her struggles as a young woman with spiritual curiosity and intellectual aspirations that drive her to combat the violence of Empire and the sexism of her own culture. Propelled by mystic visions, Miriam is finally drawn into the wilds of Galilee, where her destiny collides with a mischievous rabbi who will change her and the world forever. Trapped in a mythic story unfolding in events around them, the lovers strive not to repeat a tragedy older than the pyramids.

In The Madonna Secret, Sophie Strand resurrects a richly textured world where complex characters reveal the lived reality of scripture and open familiar sayings to radical new meanings and possibilities. Ancient Historical Metaphysical & Visionary Witty Middle East
All stars
Most relevant
Prepare to travel through time with this very well researched and beautifully written book. A treat! A wonder! A completely new perspective!

Brilliant book!

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Satiated my spirit. Loved the telling of recorded and her-storical events from the all encompassing view of the Earth. Absolutely loved it,

Captivating

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Sophie Strand has birthed an evocative, captivating, exquisite masterpiece in The Madonna Secret.

I oscillated between devouring and savouring this beautiful novel. A deep and longing knowing within me was uncovered and soothed by hearing the story of Miriam told this way. I will carry it with me for a long time to come.

Thank you, Sophie, for a retelling of the gospel that is both expansive and precise. The ways in which I regard this significant part of her-story has shifted and I feel all the better for it.

Precious, perfect storytelling

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Such a good story. But this author has honed writing not reading or performing her work. Sad that the vocal delivery got in the way so often

Yes but no

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Such beauty in the details of this book, transported to a world so vivid, I could almost smell it.

A masterpiece

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