The Poet Prince: A Novel (Magdalene Line) [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Kathleen McGowan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2010 | Series: Magdalene Line (Book 3)

The Son of Man shall choose

When the time returns for the Poet Prince.

He will inspire the hearts and minds of the people

So as to illuminate the path of service

And show them the Way.

This is his legacy,

This, and to know a very great love.

 

Worldwide controversy surrounds author Maureen Paschal as she promotes her new bestseller—the explosive account of her discovery of a gospel written in Jesus’ own hand. But a scandalous headline about her lover, Bérenger Sinclair, shatters Maureen’s plans and sends her to Florence. In Tuscany, Maureen and Bérenger seek out their spiritual teacher Destino, who insists the besieged couple study one of history’s great Poet Princes: Lorenzo de’ Medici, the godfather of the Italian Renaissance. Bérenger is a Poet Prince of the ancient bloodline prophecy, and even across the centuries, his fate is intertwined with Lorenzo de’ Medici’s. Bérenger must uncover the heretical secrets of the Medici family—and the shocking truth behind the birth of the Renaissance—if he is to fulfill his own destiny. These heretical secrets were hidden for a reason, and there are those who would stop at nothing to prevent Bérenger’s assumption of his rightful role.

The Renaissance comes vividly to life as Maureen decodes the clues contained within the great masterpieces of Lorenzo the Magnificent’s friends: Donatello, Botticelli, and Michelangelo. Maureen uncovers truths connected to the legend of Longinus Gaius, the Roman centurion who used pierced the crucified Jesus with his spear. Could Longinus Gaius, doomed to live forever, be someone she knows? Could his infamous Spear of Destiny, sought even by Hitler, be the key to Bérenger’s fate? As Maureen and Bérenger race to find the answers, someone is after them, hell-bent on settling a five-hundred-year old blood feud and destroying the heresy once and for all.  

Rich in Kathleen McGowan’s signature insights into art, architecture, and history and set in the beauty of Renaissance and present-day Italy, this is a spiritual detective story of the highest order.

The Truth Against the World!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In bestseller McGowan's breathless, at times overly melodramatic third Magdalene Line novel (after The Book of Love), researcher Maureen Paschal, who's been feverishly investigating the Confraternity of Saint Mary Magdalen, uncovers juicy information about the gospel known as the Libro Rosso and the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. She heads for Florence, where her preternaturally ancient mentor, Destino, reveals the arcane past of Lorenzo de' Medici, the great Poet Prince and father of the Renaissance. Apparently, Lorenzo secretly married Lucrezia Donati, the Colombina or little dove featured in a number of Botticelli paintings. Maureen must also confront problems with her soul mate, Scottish oil mogul Bérenger Sinclair, after a glamorous ex claims he's fathered her son. This quasi-Christian historical fantasy confection slips back and forth in time with seamless ease. Mary Magdalene fans who enjoy wildly romantic conspiracy theories will be thrilled. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Breathless…fans who enjoy wildly romantic conspiracy theories will be thrilled.” –Publisher’s Weekly

“The author ensures all the pieces fit together…the religious lessons may well be comforting in our increasingly grim time.” –Library Journal

“A daring, brilliantly executed, highly imaginative and complicated work…an uncanny gift for storytelling.” --Irish Edition

“Riveting.” --People

“Highly provocative ... Keenly imaginative.” --USA Today

"Absorbing and unusual. . . . a fascinating story of possiblities." --Romance Reviews Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; 1 edition (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743299981
• ISBN-13: 978-0743299985
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kathleen McGowan's dynamic publishing career began with the debut of her novel, The Expected One, on the New York Times bestseller list. The sequel, The Book of Love, followed with a similar NY Times bestseller list debut and has developed a fierce cult following around the world. The latest novel in the series, The Poet Prince, tells an unprecedented story about the birth of Renaissance art and the secrets hidden in the greatest paintings in history.

Kathleen's unique style of historical fiction combines unprecedented field research with inspired storytelling. Her books have sold over a million copies and are published in almost 40 languages while appearing in approximately 80 countries.

Her first non-fiction work, The Source of Miracles, is a life-changing handbook about prayer and spiritual practice which was influenced by Kathleen's studies of Catharism in France. It was chosen by Oprah's book editor as a holiday gift selection in 2009.

In 2010, Kathleen teamed up with European bestseller and investigative journalist Philip Coppens to create a revolutionary radio show which they co-host on BBS Radio, "The Spirit Revolution." She appears with Coppens as an expert historical advisor in Season III of the History Channel's highest rated series, Ancient Aliens.

Kathleen is currently at work writing her fourth novel, The Tudor Heresy, an explosive and previously untold account of Anne Boleyn's heretical education in France. These lost years of Anne Boleyn have been thoroughly researched in multiple languages, using sources inexplicably ignored by most Tudor scholars, to provide an exciting and controversial account of the infamous queen who changed the world.

Kathleen is a dedicated activist, and commits a portion of her time and royalties to organiations that protect women and children from the horrors of human trafficking and sexual slavery. She has teamed with The Emancipation Network and Made by Survivors to fund and participate in programs which provide shelter and safety for victims of abuse, and raise awareness of this global epidemic.

She shares her time with her partner, Philip Coppens, and her three sons in the US and Europe.

www.KathleenMcGowan.com
www.AnneBoleyn.com
www.TheSpiritRevolution.com
www.MadebySurvivors.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The New and the Old in a Whole New Way, July 10, 2010

By 

Hopeful Reader (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Poet Prince: A Novel (Magdalene Line) (Hardcover)

There is something so compelling about Ms. McGowan's story-telling, with her creative, deft, insightful mash-up of the old and new. Old ways of thinking about religion and women and art and power, and exciting new ways to see it all, thanks to her original connections between these things. An historical storyline and a contemporary one. Modern adventurers and ancient teachers. And all of it lovingly bound in a time-traveling plot that kept me turning the pages well past midnight.

The last thing McGowan does is merely pass along received wisdom. And I love that aspect of her work more than anything. To formulate fresh insights about anything, to make never before made connections between people and events and creativity and spirituality, is the most original and valuable thing a writer can do. And McGowan does it in a truly fascinating and unique way.

An added bonus: this book is interactive, sending you on your own quest for knowledge! Googling the art and locations McGowan writes about adds a bonus layer of richness to her work, and is a lot of fun too!

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tedious Guide Book, July 5, 2010

By 

HeartofAvalon "abellygoddess" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Poet Prince: A Novel (Magdalene Line) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Let me just say, I like Kathleen McGowan. I enjoyed her first 2 books. They aren't high literature, and the characters are one dimensional, but they are interesting reads that move fairly quickly. I was moved by those books, and continued to think about them, long after I finished them. The subject matter is interesting and it kept me captivated the whole time.

Since I enjoyed her other books, and this book also includes the renaissance, the history of the Medici's, Italy, and all of that (which are fascinations of mine)I thought this book would be right up my alley. I started and stopped reading it several times, until I heard Kathleen on the radio, talking so passionately about it, that I thought I'd give it another chance.

Sadly, the writing in this book doesn't flow. Kathleen was trying so hard to give us all the facts we need to support her story, but instead of helping, it just jogged me right out of the magic of her story and into a dry guide book. I assume she was so worried about trying to catch readers up-to-speed from The Book of Love, that the writing just came off as random facts, even though it is a novel.

I hope this isn't her last book, as I do like her, but I hope that it is NOTHING like this book. As I said, recently, I happened to hear Kathleen on the radio and she's so interesting, and very passionate about what she does. Her excitement is contagious. She talked about writing another book regarding her own experiences of what she really encountered along the way with her research, and the mystical events she experienced within the process. I think THAT book would flow a lot better, because she wouldn't be trying to prove anything...just tell her story...and, a riveting story it is. I'll be looking forward to that one.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The time returns, July 30, 2010

By 

Jeanne Tassotto (Trapped in the Midwest) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Poet Prince: A Novel (Magdalene Line) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

This is the third in the Magdalene Line series that began with THE EXPECTED ONE and continued with THE BOOK OF LOVE. This series has such a strong overall story arc that attempting to read it in anything other than the intended order would leave the reader at a total loss. The series is one of the many 'Jesus and Mary Magdalene were a couple' that have appeared in the post 'Davinci Code' era.

THE POET PRINCE begins a few months after the events of THE BOOK OF LOVE. All the star crossed present day lovers of the previous novels have resolved their differences and are happily engaged in working for the Order. Maureen Paschal (the Expected One) and Berenger (the Poet Prince) are looking forward to traveling to Tuscany to further their studies with Destino, the greatest teacher of their Order. Everything is going perfectly now until problems that had begun nearly two thousand years earlier arose. The narrative jumps from ancient Rome, to the Renaissance era Medici family and to the present day multiple times.

This series definitely falls into the 'guilty pleasures' category. The premise, even for this subgenre of thriller is a bit stretched. The characters, particularly those in the present day are one dimensional cardboard figures. The bad guys' motives are a bit murky and the good guys are a bit dim not to see what is coming. This series was originally presented as a trilogy but if this is the final book the story seems incomplete. Still, if and only if, you have read the earlier books take this one along to the beach to while away a few hours.