The very essence of Napoli's Magdalene is the lack of morals and social sensitivity couched in the orthodox Jewish mores and superstitions of the first century. Her novel is a cry of concern for the rights and treatment of women throughout time. Her choice of Mary Magdalene as the protagonist of the story speaks volumes. Napoli says of her novel, in Something about the Author Autobiography Series: it is "a story of many kinds of love, with particular attention to the love between women." Despite their disapproval of the way Miriam's fervor for life affects the way she interprets the Bible, Hannah and Judith support Miriam with unconditional love. Ilene Cooper, in a Booklist review, writes that "Napoli's inclusion of issues of the ancient world—the treatment of women and the infirm, religious practices, societal pressures—means that the book demands a reader who...