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    I’m looking for early Chuch history novels (0 ad – 500 ad). But I’m open to any good historical fiction featuring the Bible, especially lesser known original works.

    I’m not crazy religious or something. I just think the Bible would be fascinating to inspire a historical novel. The drama, the people, the community, the setting, the potential for epic stories…could make for a wild book to read.

    by AChocolateHouse

    6 Comments

    1. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is the telling of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, sister of Joseph

    2. There’s The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, which retells the story of Dinah from the Old Testament. I haven’t read it in ages, it came out in the 90s, but I remember enjoying it. It was fairly popular when it came out so you may already have come across it.

    3. ActuaryEqual4756 on

      I read The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare for my lit/comp class in 4th grade, and it is still one of my favorite books of all time. It’s got (what I think is) an excellent combination of *actual* Biblical figures and original characters. I definitely recommend giving it a try!

    4. – “Lamb, the gospel according to Biff” by Christopher Moore is very good and very funny. It’s about Jesus’ life. It makes fun of the gospels, but still pretty respectful. There’s a scene where >!Jesus is studying Buddhism, and Biff is studying the Kama sutra haha!<

      – “Mary Called Magdalene” by Margaret George is also good. It’s also about Jesus’ life. It’s straightforward historical fiction and it briefly discusses the time after his resurrection, which was interesting.

      – “Dayspring” by Anthony Oliveira comes out this year on Easter. I’m a big fan of Oliveira, he’s a biblical scholar. It’s about a relationship between Jesus and Saint John the Beloved.

      – “Pope Joan” by Donna Woolfolk Cross isn’t about the early church (you mentioned the years 0-500 CE, Pope Joan takes place around 900 CE) but it is very good. An English girl grows up pretending to be a boy and eventually becomes pope. Really excellent.

      – Someone will probably recommend “The Book of Longings,” which is a very popular book about Jesus’ wife. The book is good if you’re into that sort of thing, but personally, I prefer my Jesus to be celibate or gay haha.

      I will be following this thread. I’m also not very religious, but I’m interested in early Christian history. I wish I could find historical fiction centered around the apostles.

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