[In "The Galileans," Dr. Slaughter] brings his best-selling talents to the task of imagining the life of Mary Magdalene. The results are melodramatic and ingenious. The flame-haired woman who emerges from these fast-paced pages will doubtless delight the romantics, satisfy the reverent, and startle the skeptics….

There is no denying the narrative pull of "The Galileans." The hectic tempo seldom falters, despite the fact that everybody quotes proverbs at everybody else with the ease of TV quizmasters. Dr. Slaughter may be deficient in genuine dramatic power—but not in invention or goodwill. As always in his popular medical novels, he has fascinating observations to make on the state of science at the time, describes ancient Alexandria with zest, and throbs over Mary like a man bewitched.

Charles Lee, "Woman of Magdala," in The New York Times Book Review copyright © 1953 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission...