To start with-yes this book "Daughter of the shining isles" and you shouldn't waste your money if you already own that book. But by the time I heard of that novel, it was out of print and expensive to obtain. So I went with the newly published, changed title version.

And I loved it. Really, really loved it. As a pagan, a woman and a lover of literature and history.

So lets say that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were cosmic twins of a sort-both born under that shining star-only Jesus was born in Bethlehem (but in a cave not a stable) and Mary (Maeve) on a semi-mythical island of women on Britain's western shore. That they meet in visions and dreams and finally at druid school on the Isle of Mona. Who knows-maybe it could have happened. Lots of people think Jesus might have been in England at some point.

I was raised without any influence from the Christian faith (except that which is gained through osmosis simple from living in America) so I can't speak to the Christian implications and inside jokes and hidden meaning in the book. But I can say that if you can accept it without feeling obliged to yell out "Blasphemy!" then you will find some kind of statement of faith inside these pages you can relate to.

In addition to the faith element of this novel there is a huge humor strain-even about the heaviest of subjects (and there is a great deal of heavy subjects. If you can't stand sorrow, fear, and sacrifice-don't read this.) Maeve's narration is at times laugh out funny, at times a little gross with potty jokes and a few too many references to functions of the female body. But it all evens out leaving you hopeless entwined with her story by page five. And the sense that are you reading about more than just a girl who got caught up in history by a quirk of fate. Maeve was meant for such things. Fated to be....a god? Goddess? Or just Maeve....Maeve the brave....

Five stars.

This was a wonderful read. I am so glad that there are authors out there who can write novels as brilliant as this. East meets West, God meets Goddess and man meets woman. Classic, enthralling, complicated, mysterious and utterly wonderful. Thank you Mrs. Cunningham.

Dorothy Arida

I had been awaiting the 2nd in the "Magdalene Trilogy" after reading the outstanding 'Daughter's of the Shining Isle'.
I decided to rush delivery of 'Magdalene Rising' to take on vacation. Imagine my disappointment when I kept thinking I'd read this before. Very soon into the book I realized it WAS the same book as 'Daughters of the Shining Isle'.

I would love an explanation from the author. It kind of makes me angry to waste my money & be duped like this.

I will read the reviews from now on.

For the benefit of anyone wondering if this is a schlocky historical romance tarted up as a piece of serious fiction: fear not. I haven't seen Maeve Chronicles II yet, but I picked up *The Beginning* (previously published under a different title) to thumb through it and read 20 pages standing in the bookstore. I read around all through it, and I hated to put it down. I can't wait for my own copies of both books to read.



The premise -- that Jesus and Mary Magdalene met as youths at a Druid school in Britain, and Mary was a Bradleyesque Celt -- is ridiculous and wonderfully credible. Cunningham's intelligence and wit pull it off. Imagine Evangeline Walton without inhibitions.



She has researched the Celts just fine, and her bawdy, literate narrator heroine will have you smiling after a single paragraph. I think I'm in love. A sexy chick who can toss a caber. Mercy.



Read it as a brilliant addition to the F&SF genre or with New Age enthusiasm; you will enjoy it. I'm looking forward to every page, and to the unpublished third volume.

For the benefit of anyone wondering if this is a schlocky historical romance tarted up as a piece of serious fiction: fear not. I haven't seen Maeve Chronicles II yet, but I picked up *The Beginning* (previously published under a different title) to thumb through it and read 20 pages standing in the bookstore. I read around all through it, and I hated to put it down. I can't wait for my own copies of both books to read.

The premise -- that Jesus and Mary Magdalene met as youths at a Druid school in Britain, and Mary was a Bradleyesque Celt -- is ridiculous and wonderfully credible. Cunningham's intelligence and wit pull it off. Imagine Evangeline Walton without inhibitions.

She has researched the Celts just fine, and her bawdy, literate narrator heroine will have you smiling after a single paragraph. I think I'm in love. A sexy chick who can toss a caber. Mercy.

Read it as a brilliant addition to the F&SF genre or with New Age enthusiasm; you will enjoy it. I'm looking forward to every page, and to the unpublished third volume.

In an imaginative blend of ancient Celtic Paganism, Christianity, and modern secularism, Elizabeth Cunningham delivers the prequel to The Passion of Mary Magdalen in Magdalen Rising: The Beginning. Maeve Rhuad describes her childhood, being a daughter of the divine raised by eight warrior-witch mothers. An enchanted adolescence brings fourteen-year-old Maeve to meet her cosmic twin, Esus, at college.

The story is told from Maeve's point-of-view, with the awareness that she is speaking to a twenty-first century reader. She relates events that may seem strange to the reader by comparing them to their modern equivalents. This contrast caught me off guard at first, but as the story progressed, I began to appreciate the added dimension. The book is divided into five parts, each representing a phase in Maeve's life.

Maeve is a fiery red head who has been raised and initiated into the world of the sacred feminine, found herself a namesake for legendary warrior Queen Maeve of Connacht, and has earned her entry into a druid college as part of an experimental coed admissions policy. She is also no stranger to sarcasm, and her tongue-in-cheek commentary throughout the novel adds a comic spin to a somber story that, at times, is wrought with tragedy. Her headstrong challenges to Esus's school of thought will make the reader either laugh out loud or sigh in resigned agreement.

The novel is a challenge to conventional thought that offers some fascinating alternatives to popular legends. Maeve is a heroine for today's reader, and the general reverence for the sacred feminine is a refreshing quality. I began this series with the prequel, but I fully intend to get my hands on the first and forthcoming releases. Fans of Juliette Marillier's fantasy will undoubtedly become loyal fans of Elizabeth Cunningham, as well.

Everyone loves a grand storyteller! For some unexplainable reason, some have the gift and some don't. But one thing is always clear - lovers of story instantly recognize a true storyteller, a bard to be sure who can grip the attention and imagination of the listener and hold it far beyond the end of the tale!

Magdalen Rising is an enigma for sure! As the prequel to The Passion of Mary Magdalene, it introduces the reader to the childhood and teenage training of Maeve. Born to warrior witches of Tir na mBan and the god of the sea, Manannan Mac Lir (or so we are led to think for a very long time), Maeve grows with confidence, indeed one may even think precociousness, and grace into the mysteries of nature and the myths of her Celtic beloved people. The visions, extraordinary experiences, and spiritual rites she experiences are totally fascinating, spiked in between her racy, bold, and indomitable spirit!

Nothing prepares her for the actual meeting and interaction she will undergo with her beloved, Esus the Stranger (later known as yes, Jesus), and the opposition and attacks she will face from the authoritarian Druids.

Each story within this novel is connected and rivets the reader, uniting in a deeper understanding of Celtic culture and mythology. Yet the story actually has very little substance beyond this Celtic connection. We never get to know Esus very well and Maeve seems to be a stranger even to her own people, coming from a land whose female inhabitants are believed to be witches. The mystical quality of Druids is somewhat lost and even embattled in this account of the land where Maeve travels to be schooled.

Elizabeth Cunningham is a grand storyteller who fascinates and haunts the reader, creating a legend about Esus and Maeve that obviously carries into later Judaism and Christianity. But it does little more, leaving the reader feeling a bit cheated, especially after the stunning predecessor to this novel!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on April 24, 2007

First Century CE and the child of eight mothers, Maeve is on her way to the Druidic school to study as a bard. There she meets her stepbrother, as she calls him, Esus of Jerusalem, who is also studying there to be an ovate. This is the first year the Druids have taken seven women into their school to study with the males. Maeve, raised with visions and goddess mothers, has a transcendent healing power. When someone is in pain or dying she can relieve their pain, and even bring them back to life, by laying her fiery hands on them.

Some, especially the Jew Esus, thinks she could be a witch, but the powers she has are hers alone and are fashioned after the Druidic arts. Esus and Maeve are very different; he was raised in a crowded world where he "was accustomed to throwing his weight around." Maeve was the adorable, spoiled child being raised on Tir na mBan, who grew up in a world of women and stories. Storytelling is considered an art. The Druids don't write down their stories because keeping memories and shared stories alive creates unity between tribes.

Saying "Tir na mBan" to the Druid's makes them fall into a spell, almost as if this is a mythical place. Maeve's father is the God of the Sea and in her mind Esus and her are both divine. She wants desperately to connect to Esus and she thinks when he shuns her, "So we are different, as different as day and night. But listen, don't day and night meet again and again, one turning into the other? Isn't that how the world is made and made new?"

Magdelan Rising is an intriguing book, combining current pop culture and ancient rituals. This book is a stunning portrayal of a young, naive Esus, who is known to us as Jesus, and Maeve, a gorgeous Celtic goddess who eventually becomes Mary Magdalen.

Excellent book, highly recommended for its levity, wit and knowledge of the first century CE and Druidic culture, along with a glimpse of a confused teenage Jesus.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a phenomenal historical perspective of life in the time of Esus and his foil, Maeve.

If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is being suckered into buying a book twice because it has been re-issued under another title. This book is a fun read and I'm really enjoying this series, but don't buy "Magdalen Rising" if you already own "Daughter of the Shining Isle". It's the same book.