Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent historical fiction, 31 Mar 2004
By A Customer
I am a big fan of Margaret George's work, but I have to say that I found this harder to get into than the author's previous books. I read a review by the author in which she said she had proposed doing a book about Judas Iscariot, but the idea was turned down by her agent or publisher. I felt that whenever Judas came into the narrative, the story came alive and there was an interesting story waiting to be told by her which she had to clamp down. There was also a problem in that there are so few facts actually known about the character that the book, although of course fiction, did not maintain the usual historical accuracy. Could not, in fact. Saying that, the book can only be criticised bearing in mind the fact that Margaret George's body of work is so superior to most historical fiction that any minor faults detract. If you are thinking of dipping into the author and have none of her books yet, I would suggest starting with "Cleopatra", which was her best yet.
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Historical Novel, 13 Aug 2007
Margaret George was born in Nashville Tennessee. When not continuing research for her novels in such places as Egypt, Rome, Israel and England she lives with her husband in Madison, Wisconsin. She is the author of many best selling historical novel including The Memoirs of Cleopatra and the Autobiography of Henry VIII.
This is a wonderful historical novel which asks the question, Who was Mary Magdalene? Her name first appears in the gospel of Mark. She was the one who discovered Jesus' resurrection, but before that little or nothing is heard or known of her. In the past she has been called many things by many people. Was she a prostitute as many learned scholars say, Was she a feminist icon, a church leader, perhaps none or all of these things.
Margaret George has researched closely much of the information that there is available about Mary and with the help of these she brings to life one of the most controversial characters of the scriptures. This is a work of fiction with facts interwoven into the story, as Margaret George tries to wipe away the myths that surround the life of Mary, Called Magdalene.
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13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not M. George's best., 4 Mar 2005
I'm a big fan of Margaret George's work, but this is her weakest book to date. The characters are weak and the story plods along very slowly. I think the main reason for this may be that George was having to work from very little factual information. Very little is known about Mary Magdalene, which makes it rather hard to write a book on her! The only bit I enjoyed were the details of Mary's childhood. From the moment she became a follower of Jesus, it went downhill.
As an individual, I'm not at all religious, which perhaps put me at a disadvantage in that I had absolutely no interest in what Jesus had to say in the book at all. Jesus as a character had no development and was very wooden throughout.
Don't read this book if you have no interest in hearing Jesus preach, which is pretty much all he did. Although he did stand and look sad from time to time. I would recommend steering clear of this book and reading some of George's other works, which are far superior.
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