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LitPick Review
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Zuar, later called Miriam, is a woman who grew up to live during the tumultuous times of Jesus and the harsh power of Roman rule. She has trained in the order of the Magdalene, a group of priests and priestesses who live to serve the goddesses of Asherah, who is ofttimes not a goddess that the Romans or the Jewish people accepted or followed, but saw more as a whore or false goddess. Miriam's mother was the last Magdalene or high priestess leader, but as Zuar grows from a young girl to a woman and into her role at the temple of Asherah, her mother is forced by political hands to leave her daughter alone in an often cruel ancient time for women, especially for women who are counter in their spirituality, mysticism, and sexuality as the priestesses of the Magdalene seem to have been for many years. Miriam is chosen to marry a Rabbi who she is not willing at first to accept but later is forced to accept because she is violently assaulted and demeaned into the marriage. She finds her way into her courage, healing, and power again through interaction with Jeshua or Jesus and becomes a force much like a Messiah herself, through her harsh struggle and resilience. She becomes The Last Magdalene.
Opinion:
Donna Conrad has written a well-researched and mind-enlightening book that details what it may have been like for women, like Miriam of Bethany, during the ancient times of Roman rule and the sociopolitical climate of that day. The book is most fascinating as it takes Miriam's perspective and is set during the times that many know as the New Testament and the entrance of the famous religious leader, Jesus. Her interactions with Jesus show the perspective of why women who may have been seen as revolutionary, such as Miriam, would have come to join forces with this peace-driven revolutionary and the outcasts of the culture of that day. Readers who enjoy historical fiction and especially Biblical times fiction will enjoy this book and most likely will enjoy the coming books in the series.