2 h 38 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 38 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does betrayal cost when conscience refuses to stay silent?
In Judas, Augusto de Lacerda turns to a disciple at the heart of the Christian story. According to the Gospels, Judas Iscariot gives Jesus up to the authorities. This lyric drama approaches that familiar figure through speech and feeling, asking what can lead a follower to betray his teacher.
The struggle is inward: faith meets doubt, loyalty gives way to betrayal, and conscience demands a reckoning. Lacerda's drama in verse invites reflection rather than a simple verdict. Its questions reach beyond the act itself to the motives behind it—and the guilt that Christian tradition connects with its aftermath.
What you’ll discover
- A betrayer seen within Look beyond a familiar name to the moral questions surrounding Judas and his choice.
- Faith beside doubt Consider how belief and uncertainty can share the heart of a devoted follower.
- The weight of conscience Explore the troubling distance between making a choice and living with its moral cost.
- Poetry carrying the conflict Enter a lyric drama where speech and feeling carry the weight of the struggle.
- Questions without easy verdicts Reflect on loyalty, motives, and guilt without reducing betrayal to one simple explanation.
Who will love it
This is for readers who love the Passion story seen from new angles, lovers of verse drama, and anyone curious about jealousy, conscience and one man's choices.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Betrayal begins with a hunger for love
- Danger divides a peaceful household
- Mercy can still express power
- Judas stands outside the circle
- Suspicion deepens an existing wound
- A secret offer meets divided loyalty
- Rejection turns longing into rage
- Fear makes persuasion a political weapon
- Many small injuries feed betrayal
Who’s who
- JudasA rough, melancholy disciple who keeps the money bag, longs to be loved by Maria, and is pushed toward betraying the Master.
- Maria of BethanyA calm, dark-eyed woman who loves the Master with a pure faith, rejects Judas, and pleads for the Nazarene's life.
- JohnA young, fair Galilean disciple with a thunderous voice who distrusts Judas and burns with hope for the coming kingdom.
- Simon PeterA fatherly fisherman from Capernaum who tries to keep peace among the Twelve and shields Judas from John's anger.
- GamalielAn elderly scholar of the Law who warns the household of the Council's plot and wants a struggle by the word, not the sword.
- HananThe former High Priest, humble in dress and sly in speech, who wants the Prophet dead and uses Judas to achieve it.
- Pontius PilateThe proud Roman procurator, loyal to Tiberius and scornful of the Council, who is persuaded to allow an arrest.
- ClaudiaPilate's wife, a restless Roman lady who longs for Rome, mocks and spares Maria, and is later moved by a dream.
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Judas in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Judas
To win a woman who loves the Master, Judas betrays him for thirty silver coins.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to read20 languages
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In short
Would you sell a friend for silver if the real prize were a woman's love? Most tellings give Judas one motive, and it is money.
Judas at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 30 min1 h 10 min fast, 1 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 20,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A spring evening at Bethany brings dark news
The play opens with a picture of the land. Bethany is home to Simon the Leper, whose house sits on a hill beneath a roof of roses of Jericho.
Then old Gamaliel, a scholar of the Law, climbs the road from the city. He calls on Eleazar, who lives in the house with his sisters Maria and Martha. Gamaliel brings secret news. The Council is plotting to arrest the Master.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
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Cite this edition
Lacerda, Augusto de. Judas. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/judas.
Lacerda, A. de. (2026). Judas. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/judas
Lacerda, Augusto de. Judas. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/judas.
@book{lacerda2026judas,
author = {Lacerda, Augusto de},
title = {Judas},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/judas}
}
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What is the play Judas by Augusto de Lacerda about?
It is a four-act verse drama about the days before Passover. It follows Judas, who loves Maria of Bethany, and shows how jealousy, scorn and a priest's scheme lead him to hand the Master over to the Council.
Why does Judas betray Jesus in this play?
Money is part of it, but the play stresses love and wounded pride. Maria refuses him, he feels scorned by the other disciples, and Hanan's plan gives him a way to strike back.
Who are Claudia and Pontius Pilate in the story?
Pontius is the Roman procurator of Judea, loyal to Tiberius. Claudia is his wife, a restless patrician who longs to leave for Rome. Pontius meets Hanan and Judas, while Claudia forms a bond with Maria.
The author
Augusto de Lacerda
1864–1926 · Portuguese writer
Augusto de Lacerda died in 1926. He was a poet and dramatist, and Judas, which he dates to the years 1888 to 1890, is a verse drama on a religious subject. It dedicates itself to Dr. Manoel Maria Bordallo Pinheiro. The play shows a writer drawn to big speeches, strong images and moral questions.
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