In this welcome study of the second-century Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla (ATh for Acts of Thecla), J. D. McLarty is particularly interested in questions of emotion and identity. The exploration of themes such as gender, class, and citizenship is driven by narrative analysis and comparison with one of the five complete Greek novels, Chariton's Callirhoe. Revised from McLarty's 2011 PhD thesis, Thecla's Devotion leads the reader carefully through both ATh and Callirhoe, showing their striking emotive similarities and differences. McLarty argues that, despite being a work of Christian fiction, ATh provides a helpful example of how early ‘Christians in one part of the eastern Empire constructed an identity for themselves’ (p. 232). In Chapter 1, McLarty examines the context of ATh, discussing questions of composition, origin, and date. She accepts the view that the Thecla episode was originally included in the larger narrative of the Acts of Paul but was later disseminated independently with the development of the cult of St. Thecla (already present in the fourth century). It is likely that the text of ATh originated in ‘south central Asia Minor’ (p. 5) and is dated to the ‘mid-to-late second century’ (p. 7). Concerning whether the author of the text was male or female, McLarty concludes, ‘even if one wishes to argue for at least some female contribution to the narrative in the form of oral legend, these contributions have been absorbed into a masculine literary culture’ (p. 9). However, the readers and hearers of the text were likely mixed in both gender and class. Rather than a primarily oral development, McLarty sees the composition as reflecting a ‘predominantly literary milieu’ (p. 17), which both imitated and reworked traditions from the Acts of the Apostles. The world of ATh was a changing one, with a growing interest in the ethics of the individual and self-control. This focus is clearest in relation to discussions of marriage and continence contemporary to ATh. McLarty is, therefore, interested in the intersection of pagan ideas of self-control, reflected in Callirhoe, with a Christian view that contains a distinct ‘spiritual dimension to the control of the passions’ (p. 23). Story, in contrast to pure discourse, provides a unique opportunity to affect the emotions of the reader, but may also provide insight into the author's worldview. This study is broken into two parts. The first part analyses the plot of ATh in comparison to Callirhoe. In Chapter 2, McLarty outlines her methodology, focused especially on the concept of ‘ “affect” – the emotive atmosphere created by the construction of plot’ (p. 28). The next chapter provides a diachronic study through an extended discussion of the plots of Callirhoe (Book 1) and ATh. With both narratives, the points of interest are (1) the teleology of the plot, (2) the loci of tension, (3) and causation. While Callirhoe anticipates a safe return home, ATh ends with all of Thecla's ties to family and home broken, leaving her in ‘a plot space that is without definition’ (p. 89) as she goes about evangelizing. Plot tension presents a challenge to the reader's assumption that all will end well for the protagonists. This tension also provides Thecla with an opportunity to mature through perseverance, a process that culminates in self-baptism. While the concept of ‘Chance’ (τύχη) – sometimes personified as a deity – plays an important role in the causation of Callirhoe, it does not appear in ATh. Instead, God appears in the narrative through deus ex machina (in the theater of Iconium), in order to save the heroine. Human causation in ATh is largely confined to the lack of emotional control, with Paul being the main exception. Chapters 4 and 5 are devoted to a synchronic study, consisting of an analysis of time (Chapter 4), space, and place (Chapter 5). While the author of Callirhoe uses many technical literary features for emotive affect, ATh is often simplified and provides additional moral exhortation. McLarty discusses how the idea of place is subverted in ATh: Tombs and prisons become places of Christian devotion, and the stadium is used for baptism, rather than death. While McLarty claims that ‘Thecla is not portrayed as overturning male authority’ (p. 119), she does transgress boundaries of gender and class. Thecla is found denying her betrothed and, therefore, the civic value of marriage; she roams the streets unaccompanied and ultimately develops into a wandering ‘ “type” of Christian philosopher’ (p. 124). The second part of this study examines character and characterization as the locus of expressed emotion in the narratives. From here, ‘one can therefore glean useful information about the role of emotion in the ATh author's own community’ (p. 132). McLarty proposes a methodology that combines ancient and modern theories of character and compares ATh with Callirhoe as its ‘genre model’ (though she is clear that it is not the only model). Chapters 7 and 8 explore characterization in Callirhoe (Chapter 7) and ATh (Chapter 8), each divided by female and male characters in the narratives. Characters are described in terms of social class and emotional expression, which reveals that, in these narratives, emotion (produced from desire) is reserved mostly for the upper class. Callirhoe also shows the ‘potential destructiveness of uncontrolled masculine emotions’ (p. 166). At times the heroine is depicted as more masculine or ‘warlike’ (p. 167), while the hero is feminized. However, the conclusion of the narrative provides a return home, both physically and emotionally, with both characters fulfilling their culturally defined gender and societal roles. ATh, on the other hand, contrasts and subverts many of these expectations. Although Thecla is understood to be overtaken by passion for Paul, not unlike to the heroine of Callirhoe, it becomes clear to the reader that her true desire is for the gospel he preaches. McLarty concludes that Thecla's character remains that of the ‘perpetual παρθένος [unmarried girl]’ (p. 219). In spite of this, the narrative ends with Thecla reaching maturity through baptism and possessing ‘a masculine control of her emotions’ (p. 219). Again, the contrast with Callirhoe is apparent when the reader understands that Thecla does not return home but remains independent and isolated. This combination of celibacy and isolation subverts many of the second century assumptions about gender and class – namely, that young women (especially of high status) should marry and let their husbands protect them from falling victim to eros (desire). While Paul does not subvert gender norms as such, he does challenge many social categories. ATh portrays Paul as an opponent to the leading men of the city, who are fighting for Thecla's affection. However, ‘Paul does not take part in this contest, an indication that the honour system of the Christian community is different from that of the wider pagan society’ (p. 220). McLarty's final chapter provides a useful summary of emotion and identity in ATh, while also returning to some motifs that she hints at in the beginning of the study. In particular, she discusses the Christian narrative's interaction with pagan philosophy (especially Stoic and Cynic). ATh presents Paul as ‘like a philosopher in his mastery of the passions’ and as a wise man ‘countering the kinds of argument [against Christians] advanced by Celsus’ (p. 227). In contrast to these philosophies, the ‘mastery of the passions’ achieved by both Paul and Thecla comes ‘through Christ’ (p. 232). There is much to admire in McLarty's approach to ATh. Her detailed lexical analysis of both Callirhoe (Book 1) and ATh is sure to provide a useful guide for readers. McLarty also draws from a broad range of classical and Christian texts as comparanda to this apocryphal book. Although she makes a strong case for the predominantly Graeco–Roman background of ATh, one might wonder whether comparison with a Jewish novel like Joseph and Aseneth could further shed light on character and emotion. It is not clear that the bibliography has been fully updated from her 2011 thesis. For example, one will not find interaction with Susan Hylan's A Modest Apostle: Thecla and the History of Women in the Early Church (Oxford: OUP, 2015), who argues that Thecla does not depart from modesty, contrary to what McLarty claims (p. 170). Finally, it is possible that McLarty's emphasis on Thecla's isolation overshadows certain hints at her accumulation of followers. For this reason, McLarty does not mention the ‘band of young men and maidens’ (ATh p. 40), who accompany Thecla in her final return to Paul. This does not negate the overall point about Thecla's subversive character but may indicate some desire in the second century to follow the heroine's example. In the end, McLarty's captivating prose and persuasive arguments ensure that this work is an important contribution to the study of ATh.