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''The Secret Magdalene'', American Ki Longfellow's third book, was published in 2005.〔http://www.eiobooks.com/newreleases.html Eio Books〕 The historical novel challenges the traditional view of events chronicled in the New Testament, specifically the ministry of Jesus Christ and his relationship to Mary Magdalene. It is told entirely in the first-person voice of Mariamne. 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. It has been translated into several languages, including Spanish, Czech, Chinese, French and Icelandic.〔"Celsus knows, moreover, certain sects...Carpocrations from Salome, and others who derive their name from Mariamne..."—Origen, ''Contra Celsus'' 5.62)〕), this is a tale of Mariamne's quest to understand the gnosis she experienced as a child. Longfellow said she based the book on her studies of translations of historic Jewish and Arabic texts, as well as on modern Biblical scholarship. A selected bibliography is included. == Plot summary == The story begins in the voice of the Jewess Mariamne as a child living a privileged life in her widowed father Josephus’ 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 just recovered from a life-threatening illness. 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. When Mariamne reveals her gift of prophesy in front of her father and his houseguest, a merchant named Ananias, Josephus sends her out of the room, but Ananias is intrigued. Within months, Josephus, misunderstanding an exchange he sees between Salome and his houseguest, banishes Salome and the houseguest from his home and, hours later, Mariamne and her servant Tata. His daughter has to go to her uncle's strict Jewish household, where she is allowed no books. Unable to bear the loss of Salome and her books, Mariamne decides to leave. She and Tata follow Salome into banishment. Mariamne is eleven years old; Salome is twelve. For protection and ease of travel, Mariamne and Salome disguise themselves as boys. Dressed as males, they take male names: Salome is Simon; Mariamne is John. Ananias and his friends take the boys to the “Wilderness,” a hidden settlement on the northwest edge of the Dead Sea. They meet a man who will become Mariamne's mentor, the young philosopher Seth of Damascus, also a seeker of divine knowledge. They meet John the Baptist, hiding with other zealots in deserts. In the "Wilderness," they see evidence of the 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 learn there are many kinds of zealots, though all await a Messiah to lead them. Salome comes to believe John the Baptist is that Messiah and a king of the Jews. Mariamne does not agree. Their differences increase after Mariamne meets John's cousin, a Galilean called Yeshua. With Seth, they travel to Alexandria, Egypt where Mariamne and Salome live in the Great Library, becoming learned in mathematics, philosophy, and poetry. Under the tutelage of Philo of Alexandria, they learn 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 return to see John the Baptist. They continue their disguise as males. 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. John the Less shares with Yeshua knowledge from her studies in Egypt. Deeply confused and disturbed by the violent actions of those around him, and their expectations of a “king”, Yeshua retreats into the true wilderness of the Dead Sea region. He returns to share his revelation with his beloved friend, John the Less. Mariamne had undergone her own experience of gnosis years earlier and no longer recounts it, but Yeshua is filled with a messianic fervor to share his sense that all are divine. 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. Eventually, Yeshua’s conviction leads him to the cross. Mariamne leaves Palestine for the south of France, then called the Gallia Narbonensis. Dying in a cave, she tells her story to Seth of Damascus, who writes it all down for her. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Secret Magdalene」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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