Book-Talk Monday: Biblical Fiction
Monday, March 25, 2013
Open Book by Dave Dugdale
Since it’s Holy Week, let’s turn our focus to Biblical fiction.
Name up to five of your favorite titles of Biblical fiction.
It can be novelizations of actual events/people from the Bible, or it can be 100% fiction but set during Biblical times/events. Let’s get some discussion going!
(For the sake of clarification: we’re discussing fiction actually set during Bible times—any novels that are set during the time of the Old or New Testaments, whether it’s a re-telling of one of the stories from the Bible or just set during that time.)
26 Comments
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KayeDacus.com 
My all-time faves are Francine Rivers’ A Voice in the Wind and An Echo in the Darkness. I read them over again every so often, have taught them, and recommend them to friends.
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Have you used these with Bible study/Sunday school groups? What kind of resources do you use when you use a novel for these types of teaching experiences?
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I actually taught this in public school in a Contemporary Novel class . . . at that time Christian romance was selling at the top (next to erotica!). I bought a classroom set and it entered the curriculum. Of course when I took the At-Risk position, the next teacher eliminated that choice from the Contemp Novel “menu”. I wanted to represent several genres of contemporary fiction and felt completely justified in the inclusion based on industry trends.
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Ohhhhh FUN! I love Biblical fiction! 🙂 My favorites (in no particular order, trying not to play favs but it’s HARD): Love Amid the Ashes and Love’s Sacred Song by Mesu Andrews, Dark Hour by Ginger Garrett, Gods & Kings by Lynn Austin, and Angela E. Hunt’s Legacies of the Ancient River trilogy (Dreamers, Brothers, Journey). I know that’s six…but that’s the best I can do. 🙂
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I knew you’d mention Mesu Andrews first! 😀
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“Pearl in the Sand” by Tessa Ashfar
“This Scarlet Cord”
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I haven’t heard of the Tessa Ashfar book. I’ll have to look that one up.
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I have to agree Tessa Afshar is my favorite as well. Pearl in the Sand and Harvest of Rubies. I’m also very taken by A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M. White. VERY good writers.
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I’ve read Francine Rivers’ Redeeming Love multiple times.Another of my favorites, one I’ve only found once ever, was A Covenant With Life by Clifford Blair. I’ve never seen another copy so I hang onto the one I’ve got and treat it kindly. Lori Wick’s Sean Donovan really seemed to touch something in me and two of Robin Hardy’s books, Chataine’s Guardian and Streiker’s Bride, also are books I hang onto.
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Hi, WinMar–
Other than Francine Rivers’s book (which, correct me if I’m wrong, is an American/Western-set retelling of a Biblical story), I’m not familiar with any of the other titles you mentioned. What Bible characters/stories do they center around?
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Absolutely loved Lynn Austin’s “Chronicles of the Kings” series (5 books).
http://michellelesleybooks.com/2013/03/11/book-report-chronicles-of-the-kings/
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I don’t read much Biblical fiction, but when I do it’s Roseanna M. White. Jewel of Persia is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and a totally different take on Esther.
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I’ve only read a Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M. White, but it was captivating. I’ll have to check out her other work.
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Stray Drop is very, very good. Jewel of Persia is better, IMO. I devoured it.
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Stray Drop of Blood and Jewel of Persia were going to be the two books that I mentioned. Absolute favorites of mine!!
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Only five?! What about five authors?
Well, there’s Tessa Afshar’s Pearl in the Sand [Rahab] and Harvest of Rubies [Sarah, fictional cousin of Nehemiah]. The sequel to it, Harvest of Gold comes out this summer and her next project is on Ruth, iirc.
I really enjoyed Mesu Andrew’s Love’s Sacred Song. I also enjoyed Love Amid the Ashes but it’s the story of Job and therefore fairly icky in places. I have her new on in my TBR stack.
Roseanna White’s Jewel of Persia was excellent. Her Stray Drop of Blood was good, but not as good as Jewel.
Of course, there’s Jill Eileen Smith’s Wives of King David and Wives of the Patriarchs series which are great. My faves are Abigail and Bathsheba.
The most thought-provoking one I’ve ever read is Tosca Lee’s Iscariot – told in first person from the POV of Judas.
I wasn’t crazy about The Scarlet Cord :/.
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Acts of Faith series by Janette Oke and T Davis Bunn. This trilogy starts shortly after the resurrection of Christ and since it’s been a while, I’m not sure how many years are covered. The authors do a wonderful job of describing what it might have been like for the early believers. I love this series and have recommended and loaned them out to several friends. I recognize several of the books listed above and even own the Francine Rivers Mark of the Lion series, but have yet to read them.
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I loved “Redeeming Love”, by Francine Rivers, also “The Scribe,” which is the story of Silas. I also read the Scotland based novels on Jacob and Esau (can’t remember the titles), by Higgins (I think–she has 3 names). A Scarlet Thread, which is loosely based Rahab–it is not set in biblical times, but on a family quilt with a Scarlet Thread weaved through it and a journal that explains the reason for the thread in the quilt and with Rahab. Although I like historical fiction, I don’t enjoy reading fiction set in ancient times, rather the more “modern” time periods. Also, Lori Wick’s “The Princess” is loosely based on Rebekah and Issac, as it is a modern arranged marriage and they do not meet until the wedding.
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Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell (pub. In 1950s or 60s.
Mark of the Lion trilogy, books 1and 2, Francine Rivers
Many Waters by Madeline L’Engle–stretching it as this involves time travel between parent and days of Noah
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Sorry time travel between present-day and days of Noah
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I had forgotten that book. I loved Many Waters–
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“Divine” by Karen Kingsbury
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My favorite is “The Story of the Other Wise Man” by Henry Van Dyke.
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I see we all love the same authors — Tessa Asfar, Ginger Garrett, Mesu Andrews, Francine Rivers. I won’t rename those books, but I will add another author to the list — Tosca Lee. I’m thinking maybe she’s not on the list because her works seem to go provocatively beyond the Biblical stories rather than simply fill in the parts that aren’t written explicitly. Demon, Havah and now, the long-awaited Iscariot, which I can’t wait to read.
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I love biblical fiction! and also historical fiction 🙂
A few good novels for the guys are David: The Warrior King and the Day of War series – all novels on the biblical King David. Another novel I loved was Dear and Glorious Physician – following the life and times of Luke (a heavy read at times, but the descriptive writing and character depth took me to another world – a brilliant novel).
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Arctic Ice, I loved Day of War. Read it for a contest. Might not have otherwise, but I would definitely read the rest of that series.
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