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Library Journal Review

In The Last Temptation of Christ , Nikos Kazantzakis calls Mary Magdalen ``sexual temptation personified.'' According to Haskins, an English author and translator, she is ``woman, flesh--the universal, timeless symbol of man's temptation to stray from God.'' From this psychosexual quagmire Haskins hopes to redeem her. The author chronologically delivers an erudite, comprehensive look at the myriad myths and metaphors surrounding Mary Magdalen, starting with the Gospel record itself, then tracing Western written history up to and including the Church of England's momentous decision to ordain women in 1992. Haskins obviously enjoys her subject. The tangled web of male sexual paranoia, ecclesiastical machinations, and cultural mores are eloquently presented in this rich biographical tapestry of the much-maligned ``first apostle.'' Extensively noted and well documented, this is highly recommended for religion, seminary, and women's studies collections.-- Sandra Collins, SLIS, Univ. of Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

A fascinating journey through history and its texts (poems, plays, paintings, films) to see the many images of Mary Magdalen. What Haskins emphasizes as she reveals how each era has fashioned Mary Magdalen according to its own specific interests and desires, is that these differing representations consistently negate Mary Magdalen's powerful position in Christ's ministry. From her gospel roles as Christ's chief female disciple and His apostle to the apostles (roles Haskins finds elaborated in Gnostic texts), Mary Magdalen has been transformed into the penitent whore. As such, she has become the embodiment of the sinful frailty and temptations of her sex. Thus, Haskins shows, the Western Church has used its images of Mary Magdalen to justify and perpetuate the subordinate position of women. The importance of Haskins's book is that it turns Mary Magdalen into a symbol for women's right to full participation in Christian ministry. Illustrations not seen by PW. BOMC, History Book Club, QPB selections. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Sinner, weeping penitent, first apostle, carnal complement to the Virgin--Haskins illuminates all these and other aspects of her subject in a triumphantly readable though scholarly study of Jesus' famous female follower.