The Secret Magdalene

This is my new favorite book. I can’t even begin to describe how much I loved it with all of my heart. It is a historical fiction novel on the life of Mary Magdalene (Mariamne). Probably the best one there is. It feels like I got to witness Mariamne grow up, and she became like a friend to me. The author did such an amazing job at character development, each personality was so unique and you could truly tell how much thought she put into each character. Besides Mariamne and Yeshu’a, I really loved Seth. But out of every character my heart broke the most for Jude. If any author can make me get attached to that many characters in one story, they deserve an award. The writing was absolutely phenomenal, and even when it got slow in parts (in my opinion, it didn’t very often) it was completely worth reading just for the writing. This is truly a work of art. Anyone who likes historical fiction or ancient cultures or is interested in the *actual* story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, this is a must read. It gives so much humanity and compassion to these historical figures who have been worshipped and placed upon a pedestal and idolized for centuries now, even though that’s not really what they would have wanted. I am so glad I found this book.

If you think this just another "religious" book, or something merely for questioning Christians, think again. If you think it is just another "Grail" attempt, wrong again. There is no Grail here. no bloodline, no claiming to be descended from anyone. This is a beautifully written work of spiritual depth and a search for real understanding. It uses the truth/myth of Mary Magdalene to explore questions we've been asking ourselves as humans for as long we could phrase a question at all. No creed is pushed here, nothing is required of us in this book but an open heart and an open mind. It's also a great read, a gripping adventure of mind, body, and spirit. I recommend it most highly.

Ki Longfellow's The Secret Magdalene is an important book and I would suggest every new age seeker and for that matter, every sentient being, to read this extraordinary novel. What I take away form this book is the idea that "we are all the one," the one thought that is so hard to believe! The language of this book is sublime and you can't help but go back and re-read sentences so the poetry of her words linger awhile longer. "All men and women are angels of light clothed in the cloth of self." Ki Longfellow makes you feel a range of emotions. I found myself laughing out loud as well as weeping. I had many revelations while reading The Secret Magdalene, one being that it was time to take the photos of my teachers off of my altar because now all I need is a candle to remind me that I am the light. I usually read a book once and then pass it on but The Secret Magdalene will remain on my shelf because I know I shall read this again and again.

+++ A Twenty Two Round Salute to The Secret Magdalene +++ Amazing Balanced Christian Dramatic Egyptian Faithful Gnostic Historic Inspired Jewish Knowing Loving Moving Natural Original Profound Questing Romantic Shocking Tragic Unique Visionary +++ Quoted from the back cover +++ "A powerful evocation of a Mary Magdalene who was in her own right a philosopher, a traveler, a teacher, and a prophet. This Magdalene was more than a favored follower, more even than the Beloved Disciple. Mariamne Magdal-eder 'knew the All'. KNOWING THE ALL is the heart of the Christ's original Gnostic teaching. It was the Apostle Paul's 'revelation of the Lord' that blinded him on the way to 'Damascus'. It was the very heart of early Christianity. Still beating, Gnosis or 'knowing' was cut from the body of the Church more than sixteen hundred years ago. But with the discovery in 1945 of the Nag Hammadi codices, perhaps the last of their kind, both Gnosis and the Magdalene have returned to us...offering Wisdom and Hope in these confused and troubling times. The Secret Magdalene is not only a painstakingly researched portrait of a great woman who was wise beyond her time and place, it is a portrait of the search for GNOSIS...the individual's direct experience of God."

As many who know me well are aware, I rarely have a good word for organized religion, and yet will often curl up with a book which concerns man's search for meaning. Recently read `The Secret Magdalene', and now weeks later I can still feel the vibrancy of that ancient time and her incredible life. Not perhaps the Magdalene most are familiar with, but one whose life, words, ideas and world will transform all who encounter her in this phenomenal adventure. Have been partial to historical novels since first encountering Mika Waltari's `The Egyptian' as an adolescent. "I, Sinhue, the son of Senmut and his wife Kipa, write this..." and I had entered another time and a fascinating world. Now more than half a century later I have discovered the exciting and very real world of Yeshu and Magdalene, and all those whose lives they encountered along the way and how each in turn was changed. I felt that I was present as the ideas and concepts of Gnosticism were born and developed. Indeed, I was changing as the protagonists changed. A thought provoking work of infinite beauty. Not just the exquisite telling of a incredible story, but an experience. And one which I will return to again and again.

Ki Longfellow has achieved, in my opinion, the best Mary Magdalene novel ever written. She has left no trace of the weepy penitent, the sultry courtesan, or the harlot with a heart of gold. Gone are the demons, the groveling, and the superficial saintliness. The Magdalene that has replaced these tired old caricatures is complicated, robust, strong, tender, pensive, awkward, imaginative, and loving. In a word, Mary Magdalene is finally human. The Secret Magdalene brings the world of first century Palestine to life; a rich cultural milieu in which Greek philosophy mingles with Mosaic Law against a highly charged Hellenized backdrop. We follow the story of Mariamne (Mary Magdalene) from a pivotal event in her childhood through her education as a boy, eventually finding herself at a zealot outpost among those seeking a Messiah. While everyone points toward John the Baptist as the One, Mariamne finds herself drawn to his cousin, a red-haired Galilean named Yehoshua. In disguise as a young man named John the Less, Mariamne becomes Yehoshua's best friend and confidant. At about halfway through the book, this relationship is the beginning of a profound and insightful retelling of the Gospel story. Perhaps the greatest joy I found in this book aside from the powerful depiction of a realistic Mary Magdalene was Longfellow's deft ability to convey so much information about the ideas that form the foundation of gnosis, the driving concept behind classical Gnosticism. But so talented is the author that her efforts to educate us are transparent; we learn along with the characters, and because the plot flows so smoothly, the pages seem to just turn themselves. Unlike other books about Mary Magdalene that attempt to convey some larger message, this does NOT read like a dry, preachy tome. It's a literary and philosophical treasure that will be savored by the spiritual seeker and casual reader alike.