The Secret Magdalene
Encyclopedia
The Secret Magdalene, American
novelist and screenwriter
Ki Longfellow
's third book, was first published in March 2005 by a small Vermont
publishing company called Eio Books
. A hardback edition was published by Random House
in 2006, followed by a trade paperback edition published by Three Rivers Press
, a Random House imprint
, in December 2007.
Translated into several languages, including Spanish
, Czech
, Chinese
, French
and Icelandic
, The Secret Magdalene is an historical novel
that challenges the traditional view of “historical” events chronicled in the New Testament
, specifically the ministry of Jesus Christ and his relationship to Mary Magdalene
. Told entirely in the first-person voice of Mariamne (Longfellow’s choice of name is based on Gnostic material found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi
in Egypt
), this is a tale of Mariamne's quest to understand the gnosis
she experienced as a child.
In The Secret Magdalene, the Magdalene is not a prostitute, a priest
ess, the Bride of Christ or the Holy Grail
, but a philosopher, a teacher, an adviser, a prophet
, and eventually the beloved companion of Yehoshua, the zealot
from Galilee
who chooses to accept the burden of Messiah
out of a need to share his own gnosis with suffering humanity.
The book does not rely solely on Biblical
accounts but on innumerable Jewish and Arabic texts, as well as on modern Biblical scholarship. There is a selected bibliography included, adding up to several pages of source material.
It is divided by scrolls rather than chapters, each scroll dictated at the end of the Magdalene’s life in the mountains of southern France
in the region now called the Languedoc
, but in her time called Narbonensis.
’ home in Jerusalem. Also living with them is her father’s ward, Salome, an Egyptian
, the daughter of a deceased fellow merchant. Both girls are overseen by a body servant named Tata. Mariamne has only just recovered from a life-threatening illness during which it seems she might have experienced altered states of consciousness
. When she revives, she is gifted (or cursed) with unexpected voiced divination
. Raised like sisters and indulged by a fond father with books and lessons usually only accorded boys, Mariamne and Salome possess a thirst for knowledge, both secular and magical, that is forbidden to females. Through their devoted personal slave, they also learn worldly experience far beyond anything Josephus, a member of the elite Jewish Sanhedrin
, would approve of them knowing.
When Mariamne unwittingly exposes her gift of prophesy in front of her father and his houseguest, a merchant named Ananias, Josephus immediately sends Mariamne to her room, but Ananias is intrigued. That moment of exposure changes not only the life of Mariamne, but the lives of all involved. Within months, Josephus, misunderstanding an exchange he sees between Salome and his houseguest, banishes Salome and the houseguest from his home, and then, only hours later, Tata and Mariamne. His daughter is to go into her uncle’s strict Jewish household, where there are no books. Unable to bear the loss of Salome and then of her books, Mariamne takes her life into her own hands, as well as that of her slave Tata. She follows Salome into true banishment. Mariamne is only eleven years old, Salome is twelve.
With Mariamne's choice, her quest begins. For both protection and ease of travel, Mariamne and Salome are disguised as boys, not unusual for the times, especially for girls who sought learning. Dressed as males, they are given male names. Salome is Simon. Mariamne is John. As John and Simon, they are taken by Ananias and his friends to the “Wilderness,” a hidden settlement on the northwest edge of the Dead Sea
. Here they meet a man who will become Mariamne's mentor, the young philosopher Seth of Damascus, also a seeker of divine knowledge. They also meet John the Baptist
, hiding with other zealots in the wilds of the Judea
n deserts. In the "Wilderness," they see a world they could not have imagined in the home of a rich Jew of the Law: the complex struggle for Jewish freedom from Rome
, and the even more complex struggle for the Temple where Roman-backed priests practice rites of animal sacrifice that enrage zealots. They also see there is no one brand of zealotry, but many, and none agree with the others, though all await a Messiah to lead them. Salome comes quickly to believe John the Baptist is that Messiah in the form of an actual King of the Jews. Mariamne does not agree. Thus begins the rift between Mariamne and Salome, one that only grows wider when Mariamne meets John's cousin, a Galilean called Yeshua.
In time it seems wise to send the young prophets away from the hotbed that is Roman-occupied Israel
. With Seth, they travel to Alexandria, Egypt where Mariamne and Salome live in the Great Library
, becoming learned in mathematics
, philosophy, poetry
, and, under the tutelage of Philo of Alexandria, the Egyptian mysteries, specifically the ancient Passion of the man-god Osiris
.
After seven years, Mariamne reluctantly returns to the Wilderness, but Salome is eager to go back in order to see John of the River again. Having lived as males, they remain males. Through John of the River, Mariamne (now called John the Less) meets his cousin, Yeshua of Galilee
and his twin brother, Jude the Sicarii
.
Immediately sensing they are somehow important to each other, John the Less shares with Yeshua the knowledge she learned during her studies in Egypt. Deeply confused and disturbed by the violent actions of all those around him, and their expectations of a “King” prophesied to save them, Yeshua retreats deeper in the true wilderness of the Dead Sea region to undergo his own revelation, returning to share it with his increasingly beloved friend, John the Less. Mariamne, who had undergone her own experience of gnosis years earlier as a child close to death, would keep such knowledge to herself, but Yeshua is filled with a messianic fervor to have all others know what he “knows” and what his beloved companion knows - that all are divine, and no one needs "saving" if only they would awaken from the sleep of illusion. Aware of where such enthusiasm might lead (it has led John of the River to a terrible death at the hands of Herod Antipas
and Salome/Simon to an even more terrible survival), still Mariamne (now John the Beloved Disciple) follows Yeshua as he teaches and heals, spreading his message of love and forgiveness to his followers, whose numbers continue to grow as his reputation as Messiah grows.
Eventually, Yeshua’s resolute conviction leads him to the cross, and Mariamne to a cave in what is now the south of France
, but was then called the Gallia Narbonensis
by its Roman
conquerors, where, dying, she tells her story to Seth of Damascus, her lifelong friend, who writes it all down for her.
The novel has been praised by a number of theologians, historians , and seekers of Mary Magdalene for its considerable research into the daily life of the times, as well as the known historical personages it depicts. According to bookreporter.com, “This is an imaginative novel that undoubtedly will attract a lot of attention and foster discussion about one of the most controversial and fascinating women in early Church history.” The book includes in all editions (Eio Books, Random House
, and Three Rivers Press
) a comprehensive though selected bibliography
.
In June 2010, the book made the list of 100 All Time Best Historical Fiction Books.
, a Greek
word which means Divine Knowledge. In the East, the most familiar word for such an awakening is Enlightenment
. At the age of nineteen, Longfellow had a sudden and spontaneous awakening to "All That Is". The Secret Magdalene was written to discuss this experience as story just as Jesus in his parables discusses precisely this same experience through story.
context in order to explore a variety of philosophical
, religious
, and spiritual
themes. It raises many questions with regard to the meaning and significance of the Jewish Tradition, Hellenistic
influences, early Gnosticism
, and other ancient philosophical teachings, including the mystery religions prevalent all over the ancient world. It investigates many of these questions, and although there is evident bias towards the early Gnostics, it merely suggests possible answers to eternal questions. In this regard, it allows readers the freedom to form their own conclusions.
Nancy Savoca
, and her husband, film producer
Rich Guay, bought the film rights when the book was still only in the Eio edition, traveling to Vermont to meet with Longfellow personally. Savoca is an independent filmmaker whose very first film, made when she was 22 years old, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
.The film of The Secret Magdalene is, as of 2011, in active pre-production.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Ki Longfellow
Ki Longfellow
Ki Longfellow is an American novelist, playwright, theatrical producer, theater director and entrepreneur. In Britain, as the widow of Vivian Stanshall, she is well known as the guardian of his artistic heritage, but elsewhere she is best known for her own work, especially the novel The Secret...
's third book, was first published in March 2005 by a small Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
publishing company called Eio Books
Eio Books
Eio Books is an American based small press publishing house founded in 2004 in the city of Brattleboro, Vermont. In 2009, it opened a second office in Belvedere, California...
. A hardback edition was published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in 2006, followed by a trade paperback edition published by Three Rivers Press
Three Rivers Press
Three Rivers Press is the trade paperback imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House. It publishes original paperback titles as well as paperback reprints of books issued initially in hardcover by the other Crown imprints.- History :...
, a Random House imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
, in December 2007.
Translated into several languages, including Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
, The Secret Magdalene is an historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
that challenges the traditional view of “historical” events chronicled in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, specifically the ministry of Jesus Christ and his relationship to Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
. Told entirely in the first-person voice of Mariamne (Longfellow’s choice of name is based on Gnostic material found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi
Nag Hammâdi
Nag Hammadi , is a city in Upper Egypt. Nag Hammadi was known as Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, meaning "geese grazing grounds". It is located on the west bank of the Nile in the Qena Governorate, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor....
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
), this is a tale of Mariamne's quest to understand the gnosis
Gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge . In the context of the English language gnosis generally refers to the word's meaning within the spheres of Christian mysticism, Mystery religions and Gnosticism where it signifies 'spiritual knowledge' in the sense of mystical enlightenment.-Related...
she experienced as a child.
In The Secret Magdalene, the Magdalene is not a prostitute, a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
ess, the Bride of Christ or the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
, but a philosopher, a teacher, an adviser, a prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
, and eventually the beloved companion of Yehoshua, the zealot
Zealotry
Zealotry was originally a political movement in 1st century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy land by force of arms, most notably during the Great Jewish Revolt...
from Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
who chooses to accept the burden of Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
out of a need to share his own gnosis with suffering humanity.
The book does not rely solely on Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
accounts but on innumerable Jewish and Arabic texts, as well as on modern Biblical scholarship. There is a selected bibliography included, adding up to several pages of source material.
It is divided by scrolls rather than chapters, each scroll dictated at the end of the Magdalene’s life in the mountains of southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the region now called the Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
, but in her time called Narbonensis.
Plot summary
The story begins in the voice of the Jewess Mariamne as a child living a privileged life in her widowed father JosephusJoseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
’ home in Jerusalem. Also living with them is her father’s ward, Salome, an Egyptian
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
, the daughter of a deceased fellow merchant. Both girls are overseen by a body servant named Tata. Mariamne has only just recovered from a life-threatening illness during which it seems she might have experienced altered states of consciousness
Altered state of consciousness
An altered state of consciousness , also named altered state of mind, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1966 by Arnold M. Ludwig and brought into common usage from 1969 by Charles Tart: it describes induced...
. When she revives, she is gifted (or cursed) with unexpected voiced divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
. Raised like sisters and indulged by a fond father with books and lessons usually only accorded boys, Mariamne and Salome possess a thirst for knowledge, both secular and magical, that is forbidden to females. Through their devoted personal slave, they also learn worldly experience far beyond anything Josephus, a member of the elite Jewish Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
, would approve of them knowing.
When Mariamne unwittingly exposes her gift of prophesy in front of her father and his houseguest, a merchant named Ananias, Josephus immediately sends Mariamne to her room, but Ananias is intrigued. That moment of exposure changes not only the life of Mariamne, but the lives of all involved. Within months, Josephus, misunderstanding an exchange he sees between Salome and his houseguest, banishes Salome and the houseguest from his home, and then, only hours later, Tata and Mariamne. His daughter is to go into her uncle’s strict Jewish household, where there are no books. Unable to bear the loss of Salome and then of her books, Mariamne takes her life into her own hands, as well as that of her slave Tata. She follows Salome into true banishment. Mariamne is only eleven years old, Salome is twelve.
With Mariamne's choice, her quest begins. For both protection and ease of travel, Mariamne and Salome are disguised as boys, not unusual for the times, especially for girls who sought learning. Dressed as males, they are given male names. Salome is Simon. Mariamne is John. As John and Simon, they are taken by Ananias and his friends to the “Wilderness,” a hidden settlement on the northwest edge of the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
. Here they meet a man who will become Mariamne's mentor, the young philosopher Seth of Damascus, also a seeker of divine knowledge. They also meet John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, hiding with other zealots in the wilds of the Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
n deserts. In the "Wilderness," they see a world they could not have imagined in the home of a rich Jew of the Law: the complex struggle for Jewish freedom from Rome
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, and the even more complex struggle for the Temple where Roman-backed priests practice rites of animal sacrifice that enrage zealots. They also see there is no one brand of zealotry, but many, and none agree with the others, though all await a Messiah to lead them. Salome comes quickly to believe John the Baptist is that Messiah in the form of an actual King of the Jews. Mariamne does not agree. Thus begins the rift between Mariamne and Salome, one that only grows wider when Mariamne meets John's cousin, a Galilean called Yeshua.
In time it seems wise to send the young prophets away from the hotbed that is Roman-occupied Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. With Seth, they travel to Alexandria, Egypt where Mariamne and Salome live in the Great Library
Library of Alexandria
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...
, becoming learned in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, philosophy, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and, under the tutelage of Philo of Alexandria, the Egyptian mysteries, specifically the ancient Passion of the man-god Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
.
After seven years, Mariamne reluctantly returns to the Wilderness, but Salome is eager to go back in order to see John of the River again. Having lived as males, they remain males. Through John of the River, Mariamne (now called John the Less) meets his cousin, Yeshua of Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
and his twin brother, Jude the Sicarii
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
.
Immediately sensing they are somehow important to each other, John the Less shares with Yeshua the knowledge she learned during her studies in Egypt. Deeply confused and disturbed by the violent actions of all those around him, and their expectations of a “King” prophesied to save them, Yeshua retreats deeper in the true wilderness of the Dead Sea region to undergo his own revelation, returning to share it with his increasingly beloved friend, John the Less. Mariamne, who had undergone her own experience of gnosis years earlier as a child close to death, would keep such knowledge to herself, but Yeshua is filled with a messianic fervor to have all others know what he “knows” and what his beloved companion knows - that all are divine, and no one needs "saving" if only they would awaken from the sleep of illusion. Aware of where such enthusiasm might lead (it has led John of the River to a terrible death at the hands of Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas
Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
and Salome/Simon to an even more terrible survival), still Mariamne (now John the Beloved Disciple) follows Yeshua as he teaches and heals, spreading his message of love and forgiveness to his followers, whose numbers continue to grow as his reputation as Messiah grows.
Eventually, Yeshua’s resolute conviction leads him to the cross, and Mariamne to a cave in what is now the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but was then called the Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Gallia Transalpina , which was originally a designation for that part of Gaul lying across the Alps from Italia and it contained a western region known as Septimania...
by its Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
conquerors, where, dying, she tells her story to Seth of Damascus, her lifelong friend, who writes it all down for her.
Historical accuracy
Throughout The Secret Magdalene there is a subtle weaving of historical “fact,” connecting normally unconnected historical events and personages with the Christ story.The novel has been praised by a number of theologians, historians , and seekers of Mary Magdalene for its considerable research into the daily life of the times, as well as the known historical personages it depicts. According to bookreporter.com, “This is an imaginative novel that undoubtedly will attract a lot of attention and foster discussion about one of the most controversial and fascinating women in early Church history.” The book includes in all editions (Eio Books, Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, and Three Rivers Press
Three Rivers Press
Three Rivers Press is the trade paperback imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House. It publishes original paperback titles as well as paperback reprints of books issued initially in hardcover by the other Crown imprints.- History :...
) a comprehensive though selected bibliography
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
.
In June 2010, the book made the list of 100 All Time Best Historical Fiction Books.
Parallels of author's life to the novel
The central idea of the book is the realization of gnosisGnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge . In the context of the English language gnosis generally refers to the word's meaning within the spheres of Christian mysticism, Mystery religions and Gnosticism where it signifies 'spiritual knowledge' in the sense of mystical enlightenment.-Related...
, a Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word which means Divine Knowledge. In the East, the most familiar word for such an awakening is Enlightenment
Enlightenment (spiritual)
Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...
. At the age of nineteen, Longfellow had a sudden and spontaneous awakening to "All That Is". The Secret Magdalene was written to discuss this experience as story just as Jesus in his parables discusses precisely this same experience through story.
Analysis
The Secret Magdalene makes use of the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
context in order to explore a variety of philosophical
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, and spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
themes. It raises many questions with regard to the meaning and significance of the Jewish Tradition, Hellenistic
Hellenistic philosophy
Hellenistic philosophy is the period of Western philosophy that was developed in the Hellenistic civilization following Aristotle and ending with the beginning of Neoplatonism.-Pythagoreanism:...
influences, early Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
, and other ancient philosophical teachings, including the mystery religions prevalent all over the ancient world. It investigates many of these questions, and although there is evident bias towards the early Gnostics, it merely suggests possible answers to eternal questions. In this regard, it allows readers the freedom to form their own conclusions.
Film adaptations
Writer and film directorFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Nancy Savoca
Nancy Savoca
Nancy Savoca is an American film screenwriter, director, and producer. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, she is the daughter of Sicilian and Argentine immigrants Calogero Savoca and Maria Elvira Savoca...
, and her husband, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
Rich Guay, bought the film rights when the book was still only in the Eio edition, traveling to Vermont to meet with Longfellow personally. Savoca is an independent filmmaker whose very first film, made when she was 22 years old, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
.The film of The Secret Magdalene is, as of 2011, in active pre-production.