Date Published: 04-08-2025
Publisher: She Writes Press
Jesus Christ—Yeshua, to his friends—is not happy. Two thousand years after his death, he sees Earth heading toward oblivion. Ever eager to save humanity, he asks Mary Magdalene (Magda) for help. It’s time to tell the real story of our time together, he says. Time to correct all the misinformation, misogyny, and lies spread by Peter, Paul, and the Roman Catholic Church. Still pissed that she’s been called a whore for almost two millennia, Magda resists—but ultimately, out of love for Yeshua, reluctantly agrees.
Through Magda’s words, Yeshua—to most today a symbolic, practically mythological Biblical figure—comes back to life as a man of flesh and blood, one wholly devoted to spreading his message of radical equality. Magda tells of her travels with Yeshua and his followers around Galilee, where they are menaced at every turn by Roman rulers. She relates tales of miracles and murder, jealousy and acceptance, misogyny and female empowerment. She describes her relationship with Yeshua, clarifying centuries of speculation about whether or not they were in love. And, painfully, she reveals the truth about who orchestrated his death.
But Magda’s narrative does not end there. Her life with Yeshua has taught her that she has more strength than she ever imagined, and she begins to tap into a spiritual power that is uniquely her own—the power to connect people. Magda’s true role in the history of humanity, it turns out, is just beginning to unfold.
Interview with Ursula Werner
What is your favorite part of the book?
My favorite scene/chapter is the one entitled “Wedding,” in which Ilana and Levi get married. I loved writing it, because I gave myself license to be more poetic and lyrical, and I loved that it allowed Magda and Yeshua to unite spiritually. Also, it echoes one of my favorite scenes in literature, the dinner scene in Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, in that it brings together the whole village of Capharnaum for a common celebration. Basically, everybody is happy in that chapter, which is not true for most parts of the novel, but it’s a reminder that there are moments of pure joy even in the most difficult lives.
Does your book have a lesson? Moral?
I hope that the book plants a seed in readers’ minds, a seed of hope and connection for the human race. We are now living in such a divisive time, I would love the message of the book to challenge our discord and help us see our similarities instead of our differences. Jesus’s message in the first century – that everyone is equal, that no one should consider themselves above anyone else – is as compelling and necessary today as it was back then. I believe that message and our understanding of it to be critical to our survival as a species, both in terms of our interactions with each other, and our interactions with the planet that holds us.
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
Most of the characters in Magda Revealed come from the Bible, but there is very little known about them, so I’ve augmented the sparse historical facts with my own imaginative vision.
Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?
Of all the characters I’ve created in all of my books, poetry chapbooks included, my favorite is Rapunzel from the poem “Rapunzel in Rehab.” In my re-telling of the fairy tale, Rapunzel is an alcoholic locked in a tower, who tosses the prince out her window because she’s sick of his rescue fantasy. She eventually is dragged off to rehab, and is very skeptical of “steps.” She is snarky, smart, and strong, much like Magda.
What character in your book are you least likely to get along with?
I think I’d be least likely to get along with Herod Antipas, the Roman ruler over Galilee, because he is completely caught up in money and power. He’s also ruthless (he takes John the Baptist prisoner and beheads him, and later orchestrates Jesus’ crucifixion) and dishonest. I don’t think he and I would have anything to talk about. Except maybe our favorite horrow movies.
What would the main character in your book have to say about you?
I like to think Magda would approve of the way I’m trying to lead my life, but she’d say I have a lot to learn and a long way to go.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I don’t really see much connection between my novels. The first one, The Good at Heart, was the saga of a German family in World War II, and was based largely on my own family history. This novel, Magda Revealed, is a re-telling of the life of Jesus that tries to clarify his message and, in doing so, challenges modern Christian precepts. My next novel, which I’m working on now, is a mystery/crime story with an alcoholic as the main character and AA as a Greek chorus. So I suppose each book has to stand on its own. Good thing they all have spines. :)
About the Author
Ursula Werner has been writing for over twenty-five years. She has published one novel, The Good at Heart (2017), and two chapbooks of poetry, The Silence of the Woodruff (2006) and Rapunzel Revisited (2010). She holds graduate degrees in English literature and law, and works part time as an attorney. She and her husband live in Washington, DC, and are always trying to entice their three daughters to live nearby.
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