In the tradition of Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, this extraordinary novel describes the sudden reappearance of the erotic pagan goddess in the unlikely hands of an Episcopal minister's wife. Set in the atmospheric Hudson River Valley, the book tells the story of Esther Peters, who fashions an image out of Playdoh that will effectively transform her life and the lives of all around her. Spencer Crowe is a childless widow, bedridden and beset by greedy relations who lust to inherit Blackwood, her overgrown but valuable estate. Marvin Greene is an African American poker playing, tarot-reading, ex-convict, who recognizes the Lady as Luck and follows her surprising lead. And Fergus Hanrahan is the mysterious estate keeper who is connected to the enchantment of Blackwood. The full force of erotic love, the tension between paganism and Christianity, and the depiction of the feminine as the preserver of the earth all resonate in this powerful work of magic realism. Cunningham's contemporary treatment of the popular goddess theme is unique in present-day fiction, and her powers of storytelling make this a book that will speak to myriad readers, both male and female.
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
