ty to some, a woman of power to others. She has been seen as a paragon of obedience as well as an instrument of liberation. Some have piled her status so high that it rivals that of her Son. Other do their best to ignore her. Behind all of those images is a girl who grew up to be the mother of Christ.

• How did the first Christians view Mary?
• What did they believe about her early life, her childhood and marriage to Joseph, before the Annunciation?

This book gives some surprising insights.

Frederica Mathewes-Green presents three of the earliest texts about Mary -- a story, a prayer, and a hymn -- and provides new translations and commentary. As we see Mary the way the early Christians did, we gain new and sometimes startling awareness. Mathewes-Green opens up "The Gospel of Mary" to see her early life, offering a window into her centrality to the Christian Faith in new ways.

(This book was published in hardcover as The Lost Gospel of Mary.)