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Bright Dark Madonna  By  cover art

Bright Dark Madonna

By: Elizabeth Cunningham
Narrated by: Heather O'Neill
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Publisher's summary

After playing an intimate role in the mystery of the Resurrection, what is left for Maeve, the Celtic Mary Magdalen? Never a follower, will she emerge as a leader of the early church? Will she retire quietly to mother a sacred bloodline? Will she set sail for France to proselytize and go spelunking? The answer: all and none of the above. No sooner does Maeve open her mouth to preach the gospel her way than a fierce debate begins about what to do with the child she is carrying. Maeve has her own ideas about where best to raise the savior's scion. When she returns to Temple Magdalen, the holy whorehouse she founded, a custody battle of biblical proportions ensues. Maeve, her infant daughter, Sara, and Jesus' mother flee to the remote Taurus Mountains where they live in hiding among the Galatians until a mysterious man is dumped on their doorstep more dead than alive. When Maeve discovers the identity of the man she has healed, she is appalled and determined to keep her family's secret. But Maeve has reckoned without the will of her brilliant, angry adolescent daughter, who resolves to find out the truth about her father - for herself. Required listening for fans and accessible to those new to The Maeve Chronicles, Bright Dark Madonna takes the listener on a breathtaking journey from the temple porticoes of Jerusalem, to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, to the south of France, and, as always, to the treacherous, beautiful terrain of the human heart.

©2009 Elizabeth Cunningham (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The best one yet!" (Catherine MacCoun, author of On Becoming an Alchemist)
"As usual, Cunningham provides plenty of juicy controversy embodied by vivid characters and expressed in vigorous action, all in crisply drawn biblical settings." (Booklist)
"Gleefully iconoclastic. For that dwindling demographic with a sense of humor about religion, Maeve's profane skewering of the all-too-human foibles of the Church fathers is a hoot." (Kirkus Reiews)

What listeners say about Bright Dark Madonna

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Everything

What a Amazing series of books I just wanted to linger on.
And never put This book down I can hardly wait till it becomes a play.

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Heart wrenchingly good

The narrator is the best I've ever listened to! The story just blows by! What a wonderful way to reimagine history.

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I can’t get enough of this incredible series!

Maeve has become my heroine. The narration is superb. The stories so captivating. Thank you Lisa.

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3rd book of 4-part series. So good

I love the narrator and these characters. Looking forward to the final book. I read along in paperback and listen. Amazing

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Amazing book

It was well written, researched and an very interesting alternative story to the possible origins of Mary Magdalene.
I’ve listened to it twice and would recommend it. Keep an open mind that it is a lot of fiction with a little fact.
Great book!

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i love this series.

it fills me up and has effortlessly elevated my body and soul to embrace my divine feminine!!! And love Jesus....and laugh.....really terrific. Elizabeth is a star!

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Captivating

This is the third pard of the story of Maeve Ruid. This series is captivating. It awoke in me my inner warrior and gratitude to be a woman.

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Love love love this book and series

I love this series of books! This book is great! If you are looking for a fresh look at the stories of the Mary's then this is the series to read.

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I love this series!

the narrator is amazing. she takes a great story and makes it come alive. this fictional story takes characters well known and tells a story believable and fantastic​ with strong women and with such care.

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