The Return of the Goddess - A Divine Comedy

"The Goddess is returning! She takes shape in the hands of an Episcopal priest's shy wife. She invades the dreams of a grande dame who finds women priests scandalous. She lures a poker-playing ex-convict onto unfamiliar terrain. Meanwhile, a mysterious old man in the wood waits for a sign of Her return. Who is the Goddess? Where has She been for so long? And what does She want from the four human beings whose lives she turns upside down? As Esther, Spencer, Marvin, and Fergus confront these questions, they forge friendships across boundaries of age, class, and race, meanwhile discovering-and recovering-powerful erotic passions. Their encounters lead them deeper into Blackwood, an old estate that shelters an imperiled grove of trees sacred to the Goddess, which becomes their mission to save. The Return of the Goddess, A Divine Comedy marks Cunningham's first exploration of Christianity and the power of a divine feminine-forgotten, obscured, and suppressed by the Church-and takes the reader into the world of Cunningham's origins. Thirty-one years after its first publication, the book remains a classic in what has become a movement to reclaim the Goddess and embody Her return"--

About the author

Elizabeth Cunningham is the descendant of generations of Episcopal priests. She grew up hearing rich (sometimes terrifying) liturgical and biblical language. She was also an avid reader of fairytales and fantasy novels. She was happiest in the enchanted wood of the overgrown estate next door to the church. Her religious background, the magic of fairytales, and the numinous experience of nature continue to inform her work.

Cunningham is best known for The Maeve Chronicles, a bestselling series of award-winning novels, including The Passion of Mary Magdalen. Her earlier novels include The Wild Mother, The Return of the Goddess, as well as How to Spin Gold.

Cunningham lives in High Falls, New York. She loves to hike, garden, nap with her cat, and practice Tai Chi Chuan. She is passionate about the preservation and restoration of her region and the planet. She supports an end to reliance on fossil fuels.

In addition to writing, Cunningham is in private practice as a counselor. She is a fellow emeritus of Black Earth Institute and writes regularly for Feminism and Religion blogsite. The mother of grown children, she lives with her husband, Douglas Smyth, and her cat.

Summary

"Gracefully crosses the borders of plausibility into a luminous metaphysical realm."—Publishers Weekly
"A highly sexual, highly sensual spiritual realm...Passionate and unified at the same time."—Woodstock Times
The Goddess is returning! She takes shape in the hands of an Episcopal priest’s shy, retiring wife. She invades the dreams of a grande dame who thinks women priests are a scandal. She lures a poker-playing ex-convict onto unfamiliar terrain. Then there is the mysterious old man in the wood, who’s been watching, waiting for a sign of her return. 
Who is the Goddess? Where has she been for so long? What does she want from the four human beings whose lives she is turning upside down and inside out?
As they confront these questions, Esther, Spencer, Marvin and Fergus find themselves drawn together, forging friendships across boundaries of age, class and race, discovering—and recovering—powerful, erotic passions. All their encounters, with themselves and each other, lead them deeper into Blackwood, an old estate that shelters an imperiled grove of trees sacred to the Goddess, a grove it becomes their mission to save. 

Foreword

• Galley mailings
• Social media campaign
• Advertising in metaphysical and feminist media
• Publicity focusing on interviews, radio and podcasts

Product details

• Authors: Elizabeth Cunningham
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.08.2023
• EAN: 9781948626989
• ISBN: 978-1-948626-98-9
• No. of pages: 484
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; FICTION / Religious, FICTION / Magical Realism, FICTION / Visionary & Metaphysical