The Testament of Mary

Plot

The novel concerns the life of Mary, mother of Jesus, in her old age. She does not believe that her son was the son of God and refuses to co-operate with the writers of the gospels, who regularly visit her and provide her with food and shelter.

Reception

Initial critical reception for the book has been positive, with a reviewer for the Irish Independent writing that "To say that this is a departure for the Wexford novelist is an understatement, but it can hardly fail to be a major talking point when it's published in October". The Huffington Post also commented favourably on Tóibín's attempts to humanise Mary, saying: "The Testament of Mary" is a reminder that Jesus indeed had a mother, and she was nobody's fool."

It was on the shortlist for the 2013 Man Booker Prize.

Stage adaptation

Tóibín first produced the book as a monologue for the 2011 Dublin Theatre Festival, under the name of Testament. In January 2013, it was announced that Fiona Shaw would star in a Broadway stage adaptation of the play, titled The Testament of Mary, produced by Scott Rudin. Despite positive reviews and three Tony Award nominations (including a nomination for the prestigious Best Play), the production was closed on May 5, 2013 – almost a month and a half before its run was due to end – prompting Fintan O'Toole to comment: "I spent three years as a critic on Broadway, and I still can’t claim to understand it. But this strange conjunction of apparent success and utter failure functions as a microcosm in which some of its oddities can be seen with a reasonable degree of clarity. If you can grasp why a producer would close a show in response to the news that it has just been nominated for three Tony Awards, you can get some sense of how Broadway works." United Solo awarded Shaw's performance with the special award at the 2013 festival.