Woman in Red: Magdalene Speaks by Krishna Rose: book review

Woman in Red: Magdalene Speaks (2020) is set in Judea at around 30-33 CE (Common Era).

The author said it took 25 years to research and write this re-imagined history of Mary Magdalene, the wife (in this story) of Jesus of Nazareth, her second husband after John the Baptist.

Mary Magdalene is the narrator, talking about herself and her children, starting from the time of the death of Jesu, after his crucifixion: ‘For the sake of Jesu’s good name, fate would necessitate that I become the hero of my own story.’

Her brother Lazarus decides that she is the one who should announce that Jesu has risen. She vows to continue the legacy of her husband. She narrates the time when she met Jesu, when controversy followed him everywhere.

Mary Magdalene has been described as the most misunderstood woman in history. In this story, she tries to restore her reputation and divulge information about herself.

This is not a religious book; it is an imaginatory history-in-research book. It attempts to separate the historical from the spiritual and, in doing so, has created a story. Not brilliant literature, but a story nonetheless. This is not the type of book I generally read, but it is partially interesting for its depiction of Heaven and Hell, and its exposure of scandals, secrets, prophecies, alchemy, and obsure ancient texts (according to the narrator).

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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