The Last Magdalene

“Bold and sumptuously told, this re-imagining of the life of the woman known in the
English-speaking world as Mary Magdalene. Comparable to Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent
and Alice Hoffman’s The Dovekeepers.”

—Publishers Weekly                                                                

“An enthralling tale of the many faces of love—and its ultimate triumph
over prejudice and hate.”

—C.C. Humphreys                                                                    
Vlad, the Last Confession and Someday I’ll Find You              

“The Last Magdalene is superbly conceived and serves both as immersive entertainment
and, in the case of the titular character, a needed corrective to what we have been taught.
Ms Conrad has produced the finest novel of the Biblical Era I have read.”

—Octavia Randolph                                                         
The Circle of Ceridwen Saga                                                   

Enter the exotic world of Qedeshah, priestesses of the goddess Asherah. Secluded in their Jerusalem temple complex, they are trained from birth to honor traditions established before the time of Abraham.

Miriam of Bethany, a priestess of Asherah, knows nothing of the world outside the temple until she discovers passion in the arms of the rebel leader, Barabbas. She desires nothing more than to renounce her oath to the goddess Asherah and marry Barabbas, but the reigning Magdalene orders her to enter into a dynastic marriage foretold by prophesy that will cause a king to arise who will overthrow Roman rule, and establish a thousand-year golden age of peace. Miriam’s dreams are shattered when she learns that the king of prophecy is not the warrior she loves, but an obscure rabbi from Galilee, Yeshua bar Yosef.

Miriam runs away, determined to find Barabbas and marry him. Alone for the first time outside the Temple walls, she barely survives a savage attack in the streets of Jerusalem. During a prolonged recovery, she realizes she must honor the oath she swore to Asherah when she became Qedeshah. She rededicates herself to the Goddess and undergoes initiation to become a high priestess. She reluctantly accepts her fate, which is intertwined with the prophecy that proclaims she will become the Queen of all Israel with Yeshua as king. But Rome is a power unlike any the world has known, and Rome deals harshly with insurrection.

Mary of Bethany, who becomes Mary the Magdalene, is a significant historical figure who has been marginalized for nearly two thousand years. Her teachings are said to be the basis for numerous sects that challenged the Church of Rome. Regarded by the Church as merely a repentant whore, in the Gnostic Gospels the Magdalene is reputed to have been the “Apostle of Apostles” and the one Jesus “loved more than all the disciples, and kissed on her mouth often.” (Gospel of Philip)

The Last Magdalene de-mythifies the people and events that led to the final eradication of goddess worship in Judea. sparked the flame of rebellion, and gave birth of a new religion.

Historical Basis

The Last Magdalene is based on extensive historical research utilizing Hebraic and Christian sources, including the New Testament, the Codex Askewianus, the Nag Hammadi Codices, and the legends and history of southern France.

According to the Codex Askewianus, discovered in 1773, and the Nag Hammadi Codices, uncovered in 1945, the Magdalene was a great teacher in her own right. Her teachings are believed to be the basis for the Cathar movement, which challenged the power of the Roman Church in thirteenth-century France, and was the object of the infamous Albigensian Crusade.