Mary, Called Magdalene

The novel imagines Mary Magdalene as a Jewish woman of Magdala whose ordinary family life is disrupted by spiritual terror, social suspicion and an overwhelming need for deliverance. After marriage and motherhood, Mary experiences the affliction described in the Gospels as possession by seven demons. Her encounter with Jesus restores her and leads her to leave the security expected of her as a wife and mother in order to travel with his followers through Galilee and Judaea.

Through Mary’s perspective, the book reconstructs the daily life, religious debates and political pressures of Roman-ruled Judaea. She witnesses Jesus’s teaching, the tensions among the disciples, Judas Iscariot’s betrayal, the trial before Pontius Pilate, the crucifixion and the discovery of the empty tomb. The narrative continues beyond the resurrection into the uncertain beginnings of the Christian movement, presenting Mary as a disciple and witness whose commitment places her between her family, the male apostles and a faith that demands personal sacrifice.