Magdala: The Lost Story of Mary Magdalene, by Bridget Erica, hinges on two ideas:

First, the idea that the Bible was written by men, and then translated by men and recopied by men over generations, and that a woman’s story wasn’t particularly interesting or valuable to them. What was once known about historical women — especially controversial women — wasn’t recorded, saved and recopied over the years, and has been lost.

Second, the possibility that Jesus married and had a family, which means there are descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene today. This idea was a key part of a certain mystical thriller a few years ago (Ha, I just checked and The Da Vinci Code came out nineteen years ago, so guess I don’t need to be careful about avoid spoilers), and has appeared in other fiction as well. 

So, if these two ideas sound intriguing to you, then this historical, mystical novel about Mary Magdalene is for you.

Using the life of Mary Magdalene as the starting point, Magdala tells a mystical, historical novel, and also talks about the relationship between humans and God.  The author questions why and how Mary Magdalene’s story was lost and edited, and imagines a fully developed character in Mariamne from Magdala. This isn’t the story of a fallen woman at all, although I thought this Mariamne wouldn’t have minded seeing her name on charities for women.

Magdala retells events described or mentioned in the Gospel According to Mary Magdalene, with historical figures as characters. The novel takes readers through ancient places and ancient customs, but of course the focus on on Mary herself and what she learns about life, love, and humanity from her time with Yeshua, and the other disciples.