Bright Dark Madonna: A Novel (The Maeve Chronicles)

There are so many relatable characters and a storylines to fall into as you read.

In "Bright Dark Madonna," Elizabeth Cunningham's Maeve (Mary of Magdela ) again fascinates with her fierce wit, enthusiastic impulsiveness, intense ability to love and her loyalty to all she calls family or friend as she did in the first two offerings of the Maeve Chronicles-- Magdalen Rising: The Beginning (The Maeve Chronicles)  and  The Passion of Mary Magdalen: A Novel (The Maeve Chronicles) . However, in this, the third of the series, Cunningham grips the reader on an esoteric level as she is able to shed light on the mystical aspects of Christ's multi-dimensionality and share with us her thoughts on `the Way' as defined (or undefined) by Jesus and His Gnostic followers. With Maeve, Cunningham succeeds in presenting a multi-faceted female that both bright and dark (hidden) embodies the many characteristics of the Madonna as the quintessential mother and lover of the world while depicting a very real flesh and blood woman that carries within her, as we all do, the spark of the Divine.Like the warrior witches from whom she has sprung, an older Maeve fights tooth and nail to protect her daughter from the overreaching control of the apostles leading the early Christian community in the days after Christ's death, resurrection and ascension.Cunningham realistically depicts the individualized struggle of each disciple as he/she attempts to mainstream the teachings of Jesus in a way that captures his/her personal and revelatory stories and yet manages to unite all the followers with some standard dogma. She infuses her portraits of Peter, Paul, James and Mary of Bethany with a compelling mixture of righteous zeal and a confused inability to fathom what will come next as they lay the cornerstones for what will become the established state religion of Rome as ordained by Constantine in the early part of the third century.Caught in the crossfire as the one who truly shared Jesus's mind and yet is overlooked by the others as being either too controversial or disreputable, Maeve adheres to her belief in a One-on-One relationship with the Divine and is driven primarily by her desire for the safety of her child. Uncomfortable with the apostles' interpretation of her beloved's words and works, Maeve itches to speak out and reveal the mystery that she has lived. Nonetheless she is aware of the fact that Jesus' former companions want to emphasize Christ's divinity and underplay his role as husband to a former whore. Unwilling to participate in the ensuing power play, Maeve flees with her child Sara and her mother-in-law in tow to the mountains of Galatia where even in hiding she cannot fail to be in the eye of the hurricane that is the early Church.Cunningham paints a most admirable portrait of the many aspects of woman. Her Maeve bristles with scorn as she observes the friends of her husband mainstream his mystical teachings. As the apostles, Paul in particular, attempt to undermine the leadership roles of the female followers of Jesus, Maeve boisterously defends and then finally relinquishes her hard-earned turf. She shrugs in disbelief as Miriam, her mother-in-law, thinks more and more of herself as the Queen of Heaven and wonders resentfully why it isn't she, as Jesus' wife, who symbolizes the Divine feminine. Most of all, she drowns in sorrow as her child grows older and questions her actions. Here, Cunningham shows off her skill as a brilliant character writer--the reader feels Maeve's pain and vulnerability as a proud woman, reluctant to tell of her past to a daughter from whom she wants love, respect and unconditional acceptance.Bottom line? Elizabeth Cunningham in her third novel in her series, the Maeve Chronicles, excels in telling the tale of Mary Magdalen after the ascension of her husband Jesus and her input, detrimental or not, in the formulation of the early Church. Weaving in legend and facts, Cunningham creates a wonderfully colorful portrait of Maeve (Mary) that captures all that defines the quintessential female. With its irreverent voice, it cannot fail to entertain on a multitude of levels. For those readers that appreciate illumination with regard to some of Jesus' more mystical and esoteric themes, Cunningham brightens the path with this tale of her bright dark Madonna as a lover, wife, mother, and woman of years. I await the fourth of this series with great anticipation and fondness. Highly recommended.Diana Faillace Von Behren"reneofc"

The Maeve Chronicles were the great literary discovery for me last year. After reading ten pages of Magdalene Rising in a book store, I ordered both books in the series. I read the entirety of Magdalene Rising avidly, and then made my way through the denser but no less enjoyable The Passion of Mary Magdalene. When I was done, I had a year's impatient waiting for Bright Dark Madonna, and now, done with that, another wait. Sigh.Bright Dark Madonna follows Maeve/Magdalene from the death of Jesus to the maturity, about 20 years later, of their daughter Sara. Like the previous book, it offers an alternative version of the roots of Christianity that is well-researched, clearly described, and fascinating. Those familiar with the "lore" of Mary Magdalene will recognize most of the ideas in this book. I've not encountered a writer who has put them together more coherently and attractively. And even if that were not so, Maeve is a unique, feminist voice worth hearing regardless of her story.Personally, as someone no more engaged with Christianity than I am with Sufi or the cult of Omfala the Dancing Eland, I was sorry to see traditional Christianity treated as sympathetically as it is here, but it comes with the territory. Cunningham is, after all, not merely a Christian but a Christian minister. And as much as I would prefer a Maeve who spurns Christianity, what she does instead is persuasive and consistent with her love for Jesus.Bright Dark Madonna gets us to a cave in the south of France. It gives us a picture of Mary the Mother of Jesus (or "the Queen of Heaven," as she prefers to be called) that is the most singular charm of the book. It weaves traditional and "alternative" church history into a garment that fits (or doesn't) heretics and the orthodox. It is a love story garbed in mysticism at once New Age and Gnostic (and, without a word about it, gives us a clue about the origin of "The Gospel of Mary"). It will offend the fundamentalist believer vastly more than it does the confirmed skeptic.But the love of Jesus and Mary is an old heresy, and what Cunningham makes of it is luminous and enchanting. Her Gnostic souls are emanant enough to give a wonderful ambiguity (stolen, by the way, from D. H. Lawrence) to the idea of "the risen Lord." Sara may have been conceived after Jesus' death, but she is a creature of blessed flesh and blood, as is her dear mother.This is my Magdalene; I can't thank Elizabeth Cunningham enough for giving her a voice and a story to tell, at last.

Love this series, gets your imagination going-feels so real, love Maeve

Perfect book

I enjoyed this as much as the others in this series! Imagining what could have been, what was hidden in patriarchy, and showing the naturalness of body and woman positive spiritual ways of being