The Madonna Secret

Mary Magdalene’s confessions reveal a sensual world of love and betrayal, magic and mystery, hidden within the Gospels.

Rerooting Mary Magdalene and Jesus in the lush ecology and complex spiritual culture of Second Temple Period Judea and Galilee under Roman rule, The Madonna Secret invites readers into a rewilded view of the Gospels. Experience 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 humour.

This narrative retells a familiar story informed by extensive research in botany and ecology, scriptural analysis, feminist studies, and the mythic traditions of the Mediterranean. As a Christian convert named Leukas ventures into the wilds of Gaul to receive the hidden teachings from Mary Magdalene before she dies, he uncovers an epic love story hidden within the Gospels. It is a tale between an educated Jewish woman overwhelmed by her mysterious spiritual powers and a sensual magician devoted to the wisdom of the earth. The secrets revealed are both more shocking and more tragic than ever encountered before.

Beginning with Miriam’s childhood in a wealthy Jewish family living outside of Bethany, readers see her struggles as a young woman possessing spiritual curiosity and intellectual aspirations. These desires drive her to combat the violence of Empire and the sexism within her own culture. Guided by mystic visions, Miriam is drawn into the wilds of Galilee, where her destiny intertwines with a mischievous rabbi who will change her and the world forever. Together, trapped in a mythic story unfolding 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 bring the lived reality of scripture to life, opening familiar sayings to radical new meanings and possibilities.