THE Child Madonna

Set in Galilee and Judea near the end of the first century BC, The Child Madonna is an imaginative take on the story of the Virgin Mary. In his role at Amnesty International, author David Maidment was faced with many cases concerning the human rights violations of children. Today many girls still suffer from restricted opportunities; especially in the Middle and Near East where honour killing, rape, enforced marriage are still rife. On rereading the traditional Christmas story during a carol service, it struck David that the young Mary would have been likely to have suffered similar abuse and ostracism from her society and he began researching Judean customs of the period. The story tests Mary to see if she has the character and courage to be chosen for her destiny, and then, through the 13 year old Mary's own eyes, recounts the obstacles and abuses she suffered as she took the risk and obeyed her call and became pregnant in a society where the rigid code she defied would have made her very vulnerable.