The Thirteenth Disciple

A Novel of Mary Magdalene

This intriguing novel reveals the answers to many mysteries woven into the familiar stories of the Bible. Using recently recovered near-lost gospels of the earliest Judeo-Christian mystics, Peter Canova reconstructs Western spiritual history in a spellbinding story of fall from grace, transcendence, and redemption. Mary Magdalene’s story is not just about the lost feminine voice of the early Church; her story is our story, the universal saga of humanity’s origin, purpose, and destiny. It’s the story of divine knowledge silenced by opposing empires to prevent a shocking truth from transforming humankind.

Magdalene escapes from slavery and forced prostitution to become the primary disciple of Jesus and spread the secret knowledge he taught to a select few. As empires clash, and murder, espionage, and betrayal grow rampant, a Roman assassin pursues Magdalene, who embarks on an odyssey across the ancient world to carry the true message of the martyred Jesus before she too can be silenced and her native Judea destroyed in a rain of fire and blood.