Review: Mary of Magdala

Joanna Courtney, Mary of Magdala, (Piatkus, 2025)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8960448393

Mary who walked with Jesus

Mary goes back to visit her home in Magdala, but her family still rejects her. Phoebe goes on the road to proselytise, as her parents Prisca and Aquila had done. Lydia’s abusive husband won’t let her go hear the woman preacher who teaches that we are all equal in God’s eyes.

Emperor Claudius exiles all Jews from Rome and they are Jews, yet the synagogues consider them non-Jews. Across the Empire, the Christians flee from persecution and drive to spread ‘the New Way’.

Hebrew and Hellenist Christians explore the tenets of the new faith and learn the meaning of ‘brothers and sisters in Christ’. Peter says Paul ‘makes up things as he goes along’, and the issue of table fellowship (Jews and Gentile converts eating together) divides the community in Corinth. Lydia runs a profitable purple dye business based in Philippi, but she struggles with doubts of her worth. Mary, in Ephesus, writes her ‘testament’ of Jesus on papyrus with help from Princess Salome. And there’s trouble at the Temple of Artemis. They are all on their way to meet Mary, who ‘walked with Jesus’.

Rome burns, and the Christians are blamed, but the ‘New Way’ struggles on and grows. Mary is writing again.

A vibrant, gorgeous novel. I was only disappointed that the revolution brewing in Judaea wasn’t much discussed, as I think that was a bigger issue for them than we were told.

Juicy details and narratives are added to what we know from the New Testament of the biographies of these early Christian women to flesh out the ancient Roman world and translate it to a modern reader. Even the dialogue is believably authentic. Being so familiar with the history doesn’t detract from our enjoyment, as the novel makes it such a good story and makes the characters so real.

This review first appeared in Historical Novels Review.