Review
2017 WINNER NEW ENGLAND BOOK FESTIVAL AWARD
2017 WINNER READER'S FAVORITE MAGAZINE BOOK AWARDS FOR CHRISTIAN HISTORICAL FICTION
2018 WINNER CATHOLIC WRITERS' GUILD SEAL OF APPROVAL
2018 TOP SHELF INDIE BOOK AWARDS WINNER
"Unique and engaging...the author does an admirable job of balancing well-known Biblical stories with original episodes that feel authentic to the spirit of the characters and the time...with a modern sensibility" -BookLife Prize, indie division of Publisher's Weekly.
"One of the most vivid fictional presences I've read in recent years -- defying her father to marry Simon Peter and following him into a life in which holiness eclipses toil and poverty. From The Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Magia is able to evoke the world of the Gospels with beautifully penned prose." -Duncan W. Alderson, author of the Harper's Bazaarmust-read Magnolia City
"Catherine Magia has penned a moving Christian story that transcends religious boundaries--a novel that occupies the rare space between the historical and the Biblical realms. At once speculative and interpretive, Magia's vigorous first-person narrative of St. Peter's wife makes a compelling case for the life, motivation and spirituality of a minor, nameless Biblical character. An ambitious and impressive debut." -Andrew X. Pham, author of Catfish and Mandala and The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars
"Magia's prose is graceful and descriptive, evoking a strong sense of place...the characters complex and engaging." -Historical Novel Society
"Right from the start, the evocative and compelling tone of The Fisherman's Bride casts its line and draws in readers with a deftness that borders on enchantment. A powerfully written, compelling account of the impact of Jesus on all layers of society, narrated from the eyes of an outsider to his central group of believers who uses the ordinary life experiences of an unnamed wife to chronicle an extraordinary journey of love, faith, and miracles."-D. Donovan, senior reviewer, Midwest Book Review
"Magia's prose is languid and easily readable...intrinsically intimate and personal. She writes with skill and confidence about the ancient traditions...most of all, she writes captivatingly and intensely about the endurance of love--a subject she promises to explore further in an upcoming sequel." -Joe Kilgore, The US Review of Books
"...the kind of literature I haven't read for a long time. Just the idea of writing about the wife of one of the eminent figures in Christian literature, Simon Peter, is appealing. But the execution is what will haunt readers; it's a very engaging and entertaining story...I have never read anything like this! The characters are glorious, the writing fascinating, with words flowing like a spell, and a plot that takes readers on a spiritual odyssey into the center of their own hearts." -reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite
"Readers will be riveted...The author does a tremendous job of taking the reader back in time to when Jesus walked the earth...fresh and original." -Kate Campbell, InDtale Magazine
"Magia's descriptive abilities transport us with all five senses into the ancient fishing villages surrounding and including Capernaum and Jerusalem...her prose often ascends to poetry." -Elaine Lyons Bach, author of Gentle Journey, member of Catholic Writers' Guild
From the Author
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
First posted on Diane Ascroft's blog on April 28, 2017
Tell us about your novel.
CM: My novel tells the story of the unnamed wife of St. Peter, a woman who shuns a loveless betrothal to a wealthy merchant and instead marries a poor fisherman whom she desperately loves. For being true to her heart, she is disowned by her family. This is the tale of her relationship to the fisherman known as Simon Peter, and the story of Israel during the times of the Roman occupation, a time of revolution and danger, a time of economic hardship and heavy taxation, and a beckoning new hope they find in an enigmatic young carpenter: Jesus.
It is a tale of love, faith, and the strength of the human spirit. It is also a rich chronicle of the culture of the time, and biblical history as told through the eyes of a woman.
What prompted you to write about this historical era?
CM: My own spiritual journey inspired The Fisherman's Bride, the journey from brokenness to healing. Eight years ago, I hit the lowest point in my life personally and professionally. I had post-surgical complications at the same time that I was laid off from my job and ended a long term relationship. I was utterly lost. I traveled and wandered for about a year, searching for my path. Along the way, I learned lessons of authenticity, courage, and humility. During a retreat in the Shenandoah Valley, being chased by cows with a Bible in hand, I discovered a new inspiration. I imagined the story of a woman who was abandoned by her husband, a man who left without a word to follow Jesus, a man we know as Simon Peter.
I spent the next 7 years researching and writing this novel.
How closely did you stick to the historical facts? If you used them loosely, how did you decide whether to deviate from them?
CM: To the best of my ability, I tried to be as historically accurate as possible. I was also faithful to the Christian interpretation of the facts. It was my goal to revisit the ancient story and to not change it or make it revisionist, but to reveal layers of humanity and complexity and struggle which were not explored before. The interesting thing about biblical history is that there are so many gaps. It is within these gaps that I felt free to invent.
For example, Simon Peter's wife never had a documented name. There are rumblings and hearsay that her name was Perpetua, which is a Roman name and she was almost certainly Jewish. To be authentic, I elected to not give my protagonist a name and told the story in the first person instead.
The chronology of Jesus' journey also varies somewhat from different gospels. Which miracles happened first? One source indicated the turning of water into wine; others indicated the healing of Simon Peter's mother-in-law. Where there was room for interpretation, I let my imagination roam.
From the Inside Flap
What research did you do for this book?
CM: I researched using a plethora of books on the history of the time, books on culture and fishing society, revolution and how the Roman occupation of Israel was much like the Nazi occupation of Europe, as well as the gnostic gospels, Gospels of Thomas, Mary Magdalene, and Judas, as well as the well-known gospels in the accepted canon. I also consulted prominent first century theologians like Clement of Alexandria.
In addition, I traveled to the Middle East (Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey) several times throughout the course of seven years to research the places I mentioned in the novel.
Do you use a mixture of historic figures and invented characters in the novel? Which is more difficult to write? Which to you prefer to write and why?
CM: Both historic figures and invented characters have different possibilities and different challenges in the writing process. Historic characters are interesting because they are grounded in reality, so it is a balance of compatibility with what is already known, and credibility in the new revelations that I unveil as an author. I have more freedom with invented characters because I am creating new personalities, but the difficulty lies in making them relevant to the plot and overall storyline without trespassing on history.
I find it more difficult to write about historic characters like Simon Peter or the other disciples because it is about providing depth into who they were and making them relatable in a personal way. Simultaneously, I strive to reveal a fresh and original perspective on these famous figures.
The best of both worlds is in writing about a little-known historic character, who is so obscure as far as documentation is concerned, that I can be free to imagine a story that works seamlessly within the realm of historical fact. Like the wife of Simon Peter.
In an historical novel you must vividly re-create a place and people in a bygone era. How did you bring the place and people you are writing about to life?
CM: When I traveled to the Middle East, I sought to get an authentic sense of the time and place. I remember the angle that the sun rises, how the trees are bent and twisted, the color of the sand and the earth. I touched the stones in old Jerusalem and felt the scorching winds on my skin. I traveled to Capernaum and Galilee, Bethlehem and Nazareth, Bethany and the Jordan River, and allowed myself to be transported back to the times of Jesus.
Additionally, I listened to the stories of the people. There are so many legends and folk tales, oral histories passed from generation to generation, that have not been documented. These sources provide such wonderfully rich insight to how things must have been.
There often seems to be more scope in historical novels for male characters rather than female characters. Do you prefer to write one sex or the other? If so, why?
CM: I have always been fascinated by the stories of the women around famous men. Very often they are invisible or nominally mentioned in a footnote or as an aside, and their role is marginalized. So much of history is opinion, and the voices of these exquisite women have become lost through time.
I wrote the story of Simon Peter's wife because I was enthralled with what her story must have been. Clement of Alexandria documented her death as a martyr prior to the crucifixion of her far more famous husband. In a time when men dominated as the undisputed leaders, this woman set the ultimate example of courage for husband by dying for her faith. She must have been extraordinary. Yet, she did not even have a name. What was her story? What were her struggles? What were her dreams?
In many ways, I discovered her story as much as created it. The plot unfolded as I visualized an abandoned woman dragging fish along the shore. I heard through her voice, a beautiful and sensitive soul struggling in her relationship with her husband, loss of their child, and the unfurling of a new faith.
I was compelled to commit this story to the page.
