We are used to the term ‘dreaming’ being associated with the spirituality of the Aboriginal people. Here, John Carroll argues that there is also a Western Dreaming, originating in the 16th Century as part of a third Reformation. At the heart of this western dreaming is story. In ‘the Western Dreaming’, John Carroll identifies and explores these key stories or archetypes which are at the source of western culture. the story of Mary Magdalene is one of these. In the 1990’s we have been witnesses to this story through the story of Diana, Princess of Wales: hers the cardinal story of the second half of the twentieth century. While the modern Diana myth is deep the primal force driving through it is Magdalene. John Carroll argues that the spirit of the western world cannot survive without stories, and identifying them is part of our search for understanding. ‘the Western Dreaming’ is a provocative work, which urges readers to consider the story in western culture in a refreshingly new light.