Daughter of the Shining Isles (The Magdalen Trilogy, Vol. 1) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Cunningham (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Magdalen Trilogy, Vol. 1 | Publication Date: June 1, 2000

With keen psychological insight and disarming humor, Elizabeth Cunningham re-imagines the beginnings of Christianity from a Celtic point-of-view. Her Celtic Magdalen invites us to wonder how a woman trained in the mysteries of Druidism and ancient Celtic spirituality might have fallen under the spell of the young Jesus of Nazareth and cast her own magic over him. The evolving tale of love, challenge, and triumph will captivate readers seeking fresh perspectives into the Celtic and Christian elements of our Western spiritual heritage.-Tom Cowan, author of Fire in the Head, Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit

"Cunningham wears her reverence at a such a rakish angle that it's easy to overlook the deeply religious sensibility that informs her work. In treating the pious and priggish denial of Christ's physicality as the set-up for her outlandish comic effects, she is fall-out-of-your-chair funny. She could crack up the Mater Dolorosa. But she is also mounting a serious challenge to that denial. Nor does she spare the more recent pieties of New Age spirituality, which tend to bury the personality of Magdalen under a mawkish heap of female archetypes. Her mouthy Magdalen won't sit still for being anyone's icon or emblem. She is here to tell you that Jesus, her friend, sweetheart and "cosmic sibling rival" was adorably, poignantly--and sometimes annoyingly--human. In less grace-full hands, this sassy treatment might amount to no more than a smart-aleck deconstruction of Christ's divinity. But Cunningham is up to no such thing. She insists on humanity as one who sees in its every awkward aspect the image and likeness of God. Beneath her sense of the ridiculous and the ribald, is a subtext that sings "Alleluia!" -Catherine MacCoun, author of The Age of Miracles

"Cunningham has outdone herself. Always an imaginative writer, as such books as The Return of the Goddess and The Wild Mother show, Cunningham here mixes Celtic mythology with the emergent feminist tradition of the Magdalen to create a powerful and spiritually charged visionary novel. Red-haired Maeve was born on the legendary Isle of Women, where her weather-witching mothers (yes, the plural is intentional) raise her to be utterly self-assured as

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to the publicity material accompanying her new book, novelist Cunningham (The Return of the Goddess) is descended from nine generations of Episcopal priests. She resisted the temptation to become a Christian priest herself, but proudly calls herself a priestess, and has written reams of feminist, neo-pagan fiction. In this novel, the first in a projected trilogy, Cunningham introduces us to Mary Magdalen, Celtic-style. Here, Mary, called Maeve, is born in the Land of Women in 4 B.C.E. As a young woman, she moves to Mona to study at a druidic university. There she meets EsusAaka JesusAwho is also studying there during his so-called lost years. In Maeve, Cunningham has blended the perky insouciance of Sabrina the teenage witch with the penetrating common sense of Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett. She speaks in a refreshingly modern voiceA"Yes, I know. Girl hero is awkward, like woman doctor.... But I balk at the word heroine. A personal quirk." But awkward locutions creep into this historical fantasy ("It was the blood, my woman's blood!"), and much of the novel reads like a poor imitation of Ursula Le Guin. At times, Cunningham tries too hard to prove her bona fides; her references to the Talmud, for example, hardly blend in seamlessly. ("You'll find this very discussion in a volume called Taharoth, in the tractate Niddah, chapter 9, Mishnah 5.") The endearing protagonist almost makes plowing through the tendentious, turgid prose worthwhile. Almost, but not quite. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Cunningham outdoes herself. Always an imaginative writer, as The Return of the Goddess (1992) and The Wild Mother (1993) attest, Cunningham now mixes Celtic mythology with the emergent feminist tradition of the Magdalen to create a powerful, spiritually charged visionary novel. Red-haired Maeve was born on the legendary Isle of Women, where her weather-witching mothers (the plural is intentional) raise her to be utterly self-assured as well as almost overwhelmingly self-willed. But her confidence and skills are put to the test when, accepted as one of the first female candidates for initiation at Mona, she meets her soulmate and beloved, Esus (aka Jesus) of Nazareth, whose lengthy, invisible apprenticeship wasn't among the Essenes, as some would have it, but among the Druids, where he learned his destiny in a shamanic vision. In less-skilled hands, this wild combination of cultures and spiritual traditions might strain all suspension of disbelief, but Cunningham makes Maeve a force of nature that sweeps the reader along in her train. Indeed, Cunningham's artistry encourages the belief that, if there had been a lover fated for the fated savior, she certainly would have been this brilliant, soulful, sensual Celtic lass, Maeve. And this is just the first volume of a projected trilogy. Patricia Monaghan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Barrytown/Station Hill (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158177060X
• ISBN-13: 978-1581770605
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #618,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Cunningham is the direct descendant of nine generations of Episcopal priests. She grew up hearing rich (sometimes terrifying) liturgical and biblical language. When she was not in church or school, she read fairytales and fantasy novels or wandered in the enchanted wood of an overgrown, abandoned estate next door to the rectory. Her religious background, the magic of fairytales, and the numinous experience of nature continue to inform her work.

After being altogether too good and studious during her earliest years, Cunningham was expelled from a progressive boarding school for nudity. She subsequently earned a GED and went on to The College of General Studies at Boston University. From there she transferred to Harvard-Radcliffe College where she graduated in 1976 with BA in English and American language and literature. Somehow, she resisted the temptation to go to seminary to study for the Episcopal priesthood. The possibility was especially tempting, because, at that time, ordination of women was not allowed. When the church ruled in favor of women's ordination a few months later, she heaved a sigh of relief and went on writing The Wild Mother, her first novel, hailed by Publishers Weekly as a beguiling tour de force.

The Passion of Mary Magdalen, the centerpiece of The Maeve Chronicles, is Cunningham's fifth novel, and the book she believes she was born to write. Her other novels include The Return of the Goddess, a Divine Comedy; The Wild Mother; and How to Spin Gold, a Woman's Tale (re-released by Epigraph, May 2009). Magdalen Rising, the prequel to The Passion of Mary Magdalen was published in 2007. Bright Dark Madonna, the sequel, was published in April 2009. Red-Robed Priestess, the fourth and final Maeve Chronicle, was published in Novemeber, 2011.

Cunningham is also the author of two collections of poetry Small Bird, and Wild Mercy.

Although Cunningham managed to avoid becoming an Episcopal priest, she graduated from The New Seminary in 1997 and was ordained as an interfaith minister and counselor. Both The Maeve Chronicles and her interfaith ministry express Cunningham's profound desire to reconcile her Christian roots with her call to explore the divine feminine.

Since her ordination, Cunningham has been in private practice as a counselor and maintains that the reading and writing of novels has been as important to this work as her seminary training.

The mother of grown children, Cunningham lives with her husband in the Hudson Valley.

Elizabeth (and Maeve, the Celtic Mary Magdalen) can be followed on twitter, on her blog and on facebook. The links follow:

http://elizabethandmaeve.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=61625329756&ref=ts

http://twitter.com/EliznMaeve

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Transcendent, June 18, 2000

By 

Ashling Kelly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daughter of the Shining Isles (The Magdalen Trilogy, Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

I have long been a fan of Elizabeth Cunningham's work; I expected Daughter of the Shining Isles to be equally wonderful. I was stunned to discover just how rich and powerful this book is. Volume I of the Magdalen Trilogy, Daughter of the Shining Isles speaks with the heroine's voice. Not just any old heroine, Maeve is wild, magical and young, growing into her wisdom with all the mistakes and passion of questioning youth and growing womanhood. Maeve was born on the Isle of Women, Tir na mBan, on the same night that Esus of Nazareth was born across the world, both births heralded by glorious twin stars. Ever prone to following her heart and desires, Maeve learns all that her eight mothers can teach her, and eventually goes to the island of Mona, home to the illustrious Druid College. It is there that she comes face-to-face with Esus of Nazareth, whose life is intricately woven with Maeve's. Together they learn--academics, magic, and the power of love. And together they learn that neither faces a future that will flow easily. Both have destinies that we only think we can foresee. Daughter of the Shining Isles leads us through magic, intrigue, passion, power, grief and joy...and this is only volume I of the Magdalen Trilogy! There are secrets and surprises, love and pain, familiar names in new contexts, and people you will never forget. I loved this book, from the first sentence to the last. This is a work of historical fiction, and yet, one can't help but wonder...this book often feels as if the words are truly Maeve's, and the story feels as though it could be a truth to a history often speculated about but never really proven. It is as though Maeve chose Elizabeth Cunningham to tell her story, now, for all to finally hear and know. Cunningham writes with a richness, a lushness, rarely seen in modern authors. Her descriptions paint scenes as clearly as if we are there, watching, participating. She combines vivid characterization, earthy realism and luminous fantasy, humor and tragedy, to create a book that speaks to us with its own voice, with Maeve's own voice, in a story that must be told...must be heard.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bawdy, but entertaining, August 8, 2003

By 

Lesa Bellevie "Lesa Bellevie" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Daughter of the Shining Isles (The Magdalen Trilogy, Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

This is the Magdalene.org review: "Daughter of the Shining Isles" is the first part of an ambitious trilogy by Elizabeth Cunningham. She takes us to the Celtic-speaking world of 9 C.E. where the main character, Maeve Rhaud, is born and raised by eight weather-warrior witches on the island of Tir na mBam. There, she has a startling vision of her cosmic twin, Esus, in a back alley of Jerusalem: he is relieving his bladder.

If this is a startling image for you, then you should avoid the book. Cunningham's Maeve Rhaud is a headstrong, earthy character with no qualms about speaking of bodily functions, and she does so with great frequency. They are, in fact, important plot points in the story. This was a great drawback for me when I first started the book, and it wasn't until I was halfway through it that I decided the story was entertaining enough to compensate for Cunningham's Celtic witches' apparent scatalogical fascination.

A majority of the story takes place at the legendary Druid college of Mona, where Maeve Rhaud undertakes bardic training. The author accounts for the "lost years" of Jesus (Esus) by placing him in the college with her. He has a difficult time believing that his cosmic twin is someone so "unclean," and they have frequent theological arguments about monotheism versus her polytheistic ways. Maeve is constantly in trouble with the faculty of the college, clashing with personalities and breaking taboos. It is in this setting that she falls in love with the 15 year old man from Jerusalem and pledges her life to him.

Cunningham's novel is narrated by Maeve, who uses modern metaphors to describe the events in her tale. In spite of this chronological inconsistency, the story is extremely entertaining and told with good humor. It moves along quickly, and the main characters are well developed. If you are familiar with biblical accounts of the life of Jesus, you will be amused by the references to how his legend was shaped by people after his death.

If you're able to laugh at bawdy humor and don't have an easily tweaked sense of the blasphemous, this book will leave you satisfied and waiting eagerly for the next novel in the series.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Disappointment, December 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Daughter of the Shining Isles (The Magdalen Trilogy, Vol. 1) (Hardcover)

After reading other customers reviews, I was really looking forward to this book, however, I found myself surprisingly dissappointed. The modern humor with which the author flavors 90% of the novel, mixed with the time period of centuries ago was not well executed, and came across as cheeky and immature. I found the combination didn't work for me at all. The book comes across as very superficial and impotent.