The Book of Love (The Magdalene Line 2)
Kathleen McGowan, 2009
Simon & Schuster
528 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780743299978
Summary
Journalist Maureen Pascal receives a mysterious package from an anonymous source. It appears to be an ancient document written in Latin and signed in code by a famous woman in the eleventh century, Matilda of Tuscany. .
History has overlooked—or covered up—Matilda, but Maureen realizes the significance of the document and a new search begins. Matilda’s long-hidden scrolls demand the return of her “most precious books and documents” to the Abbey of Orval—the same Abbey from which the prophecy of the Expected One originated. Maureen plunges into the search for the Book of Love, the gospel written in Jesus’ own hand, and begins to see the eerie connections between herself and Matilda. .
Expertly researched with dazzling plot twists, The Book of Love is a spiritual thriller sure to delight readers as they follow Maureen across Europe as she uncovers secrets and shines light on the hidden corners of Christianity. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Kathleen McGowan is an American author. Her novel The Expected One sold over a million copies worldwide and has appeared in over fifty languages. She claims to be a descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.
The Magdalene Line is a series of novels, featuring both fictitious and historical female characters which the author believes history has either misrepresented or obliterated.
McGowan began working on the first novel The Expected One in 1989. Focusing on the role of Mary Magdalene, it was self-published in 2005, selling 2,500 copies. In 2006, the book was re-published by Simon & Schuster. The second novel of the series is The Book of Love, published in 2009, focusing on the life of Saint Mathilda of Canossa. The third novel of the series, The Poet Prince, was published in 2010 and focuses on the life of Lorenzo de Medici.
Each novel of the series features the fictitious heroine Maureen Paschal, who is tasked with uncovering alleged historical and Christian enigmas. Other fictitious characters include Berenger Sinclair and Tamara Wisdom, as well as the enigmatic character Destino.
McGowan lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three sons. (From Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
Maureen Paschal, last seen discovering the secrets of Mary Magdalene in The Expected One, returns in this overstuffed sequel. Haunted by dreams of Jesus telling her to search for "the Book of Love," Maureen, now a bestselling novelist, takes off for France, where her estranged lover, Bérenger Sinclair, reveals that the mysterious manuscript is supposed to be a gospel written by Christ and whose existence is merely a rumor. Both Maureen and Bérenger receive strange clues pointing them toward the story of Countess Matilda of Tuscany, an 11th-century noblewoman and an early champion of the Book of Love. With the help of Maureen's cousin, a Jesuit scholar at the Vatican, Maureen confronts dangerous forces bent on covering up the truth and follows Matilde's trail though Belgium, Italy and France, culminating in a stunning sequence within the Chartres Cathedral. However, Matilda's hefty story line exists uneasily next to Maureen's contemporary narrative and relies too much on long-winded narration to explain Christian esoterica. Series fans and readers into Da Vinci Code- style church intrigue will enjoy this.
Publishers Weekly
This second entry in McGowan's "Magdalene Line" series is sure to please fans of The Expected One and entice new readers enthralled with conspiracy theories. Following her discovery of the Mary Magdalene gospel and the subsequent publication of her fictional account of that discovery, journalist Maureen Paschal and Madgalene scholar Berenger Sinclair receive a mysterious package holding an ancient document written in Latin and in code. Research determines that the diary belonged to a little-known woman from history, Matilda of Tuscany. Her diary reveals Matilda's participation in a secret Cather society, her marriage to a pope, and her mission to protect what may just be the most important book in history-the teachings of Jesus, written in his own hand. From Rome to France, from the Inquisition to the present, Maureen and Berenger search for clues that will lead them to the brink of danger while they fulfill their own destiny. McGowan is a master storyteller, and her latest will appeal to Da Vinci Code fans still awaiting Dan Brown's next thriller. Highly recommended for all public libraries and academic libraries with conspiracy collections. —Nanci Milone Hill
Library Journal
Discussion Questions
1. When Maureen begins having dreams about The Book of Love, she immediately plans to embark upon a search for the sacred text. What factors motivate Maureen in her quest?
2. What similarities does Maureen share with Matilda of Tuscany and the other Expected Ones? Compare and contrast Maureen's and Matilda's roles as Expected Ones within the context of their respective eras, taking into account religious, social, and political factors.
3. Discuss the symbolism of the labyrinth. What does Isobel hope to illustrate by recounting the "labyrinth legend" (133) to Matilda? In what ways does the legend mirror events that take place in Matilda's life?
4. In medieval times, women were "pawns in the affairs of men, with no right to choose in their own future" (133). How was Matilda able to overcome the limitations imposed on women in that era? How was she not? Why was Matilda able to earn the adulation of her soldiers, which Conn asserts "was not in spite of the fact that she was a woman, but because she was a woman"?
5. Maureen and Berenger parted ways under strained circumstances two years earlier, and she admits that while she's attracted to him she has concerns about his reputation as a playboy. What ultimately brings them together? How does knowing that Berenger is the bearer of his own legacy as a Poet Prince alter Maureen's feelings about their romantic relationship?
6. Matilda and Gregory's first meeting was "an intense, stimulating game of wit and banter, highly charged on both sides" (399). What attracts them to one another? Why are they each willing to risk their prominent standing—and possibly their lives -- to have a relationship?
7. Is Matilda and Gregory's relationship one that is truly equal in power? How does their disagreement over Henry's act of "penance" alter their relationship? What was the strategy behind Matilda's decision to relinquish all of her property to the church—and into Gregory's control?
8. Matilda "was, in many respects, the first modern woman" (619), writes Kathleen McGowan. What examples from the book support this premise? What can women today learn from Matilda?
9. How do the excerpts from The Book of Love and The Libro Rosso enhance the storyline? How does the tale of Solomon and Sheba in particular resonate throughout The Book of Love?
10. How interested were you in reading The Book of Love for its theological premise? Did your own religious views affect your reading of The Book of Love? Why or why not? Has reading the book altered your religious outlook in any way?
11. Discuss the theological implications of The Book of Love and The Libro Rosso. Why are they considered such a threat by the Vatican? Why do you suppose the idea of Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene and fathering children is such a disturbing notion to some religious leaders? If a document substantiating this premise were to come to light, how do you think it would be received by society?
12. Father Girolamo de Pazzi lures Maureen to the crypt of Chartres Cathedral under false pretenses. Why does he later have a change of heart and allow Maureen to leave? Did you guess Father Girolamo's true identity in the story before it was revealed? If so, what clues did you pick up on? Did the revelation of Destino as Longinus come as a surprise?
13. Father Girolamo wants Maureen to "repent" and say that she forged the Magdalene gospel. Why does Maureen refuse to give in to his demand even at the risk of her life? How does she draw on her faith to see her through this situation?
14. Have you also read The Expected One, the first book in the Magdalene Line series? If so, how does The Book of Love compare? In what ways have the characters, including Maureen, changed over the course of the two stories?
15. In the Afterword, Kathleen McGowan writes, "In homage to the Lady Ariadne, I have attempted to weave a 'clue' for all of you to follow in and out of the labyrinth. As such, I have written this book using the ancient mystery school technique of 'layered learning.' The more you read it, the more veils will be removed and the more truths revealed." What "clue," if any, did you pick up on while reading The Book of Love? Are you inspired to re-read the novel a second time? Why or why not?
(Questions by publisher.)
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