Book picks similar to
Mary Magdalene by Ellen Gunderson Traylor


historical-fiction
biblical-fiction
christian
fiction

The Shenandoah Road: A Novel of the Great Awakening (The Russells Book 1)


Lynne Basham Tagawa - 2018
    While other books feature the raw grit of frontier colonial life, this book goes deeper and reveals the heart." - Douglas Bond John Russell's heart aches from the loss of his wife, but the Shenandoah Valley frontiersman needs to marry again for his daughter's sake. At first he believes he has found the right young woman, despite their differences, but his faith falters when time reveals she isn't quite what she seemed. Can he truly love her? Unlike her disgraced sister, Abigail Williams obeys the Commandments. At least, she thinks herself a Christian until a buckskin-clad newcomer courts her. He treats her kindly but also introduces her to a sermon by the controversial preacher, George Whitefield. Her self-righteousness is shattered, and she wonders about their relationship. If she confesses her lack of faith, will John continue to love her? "Raw, realistic, and historically packed, this story will make you think. If you enjoy stories with deep theological themes, you will enjoy this." - Amber Schamel

Woman of Sin


Debra B. Diaz - 2010
    Alysia of Athens, pampered daughter of a wealthy physician, is taken from her home and sold into slavery when her father is accused of treason during the turbulent reign of Tiberius Caesar. She is purchased by Paulus Maximus, a powerful Roman legate who pierces through her determination to hate her captors. When trouble caused by his jealous stepbrother forces her to run away, she finds herself in the battle-torn land of Palestine, where she meets a man named Jesus who will change her life forever. But in her flight from the intrigues of Rome to the palaces of Jerusalem, Alysia finds she cannot escape her enemies, neither the one who stole her heart, nor the one who wants to destroy her.

That First Montana Year


Donna L. Scofield - 2015
    But she's a minister’s daughter and pregnant. To save embarrassment for the families, and hoping a fresh start will help them become the sweethearts they were before, B’Anne agrees to leave everyone and everything she knows and go with Will to the Montana Territory. They hope Will's uncle Hiram, whom he has never met, will guide them in their homesteading. Uncle Hiram welcomes Will, but treats B’Anne coolly until he realizes she isn’t a “frills and furbelows” girl. Although Will seems to care for B’Anne, she loses her confidence when she discovers a letter from Will's former sweetheart. Will's secrecy threatens to build a wall between them. Spring arrives, and with it the promise of renewal. But is B’Anne's hope for a fresh start enough to sustain the young couple through the years of hard living under that big Montana sky?

The Days of Elijah


John Noble - 2018
      Elijah is a young prophet studying the Torah, when the soldiers of Queen Jezebel burn his school and massacre his teachers. He escapes, barely, but finds himself on the run and hunted as Queen Jezebel attempts to stamp out the worship of the Hebrew God in Israel and replace it with the worship of Ba’al. As the queen’s soldiers close in on him, Elijah discovers a little known promise in the Scroll of Deuteronomy and prays for something impossible – that God would turn the skies to bronze and stop the rain on the kingdom that has abandoned Him.   And God says yes.   As drought and famine grip the cloudless land of Israel, God tells Elijah to hide and sends him to the land of Tyre, to a widow and her son who are on the edge of starvation. In Tyre Elijah finds a darkness at the heart of the city, a darkness that threatens to consume Israel next. But even if he survives, will Israel listen to his warning? This is a re-imagining of the story of Elijah from the Bible.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ


Lew Wallace - 1880
    This faithful New Testament tale combines the events of the life of Jesus with grand historical spectacle in the exciting story of Judah of the House of Hur, a man who finds extraordinary redemption for himself and his family.A classic of faith, fortitude, and inspiration.

The Widow of Larkspur Inn


Lawana Blackwell - 1998
    Worse, she is told by his bankers that he gambled away their fortune. Now, the family's hope rests on The Larkspur, an old abandoned coaching inn in the quaint village of Gresham.Driven by dread and her desire to provide for her children, Julia decides to turn the dilapidated inn into a lodging house. But can she--who was accustomed to servants attending to every need--do what needs to be done and cope when boarders begin arriving? And then an eligible new vicar moves into town...

The Big Fisherman


Lloyd C. Douglas - 1948
    Sheltering the King's well-guarded domain, a mile above and a dozen miles east of the Dead Sea, motionless masses of neighbourly white clouds hung suspended from a remote blue ceiling. There had been an unusually heavy snowfall in the winter, not only upon the King's land but throughout the country. It was going to be a prosperous season for everybody. Intertribal jangling and discontent would be reduced to a minimum.

Before Bethlehem


James Flerlage - 2013
    By accepting the Rabbi’s request, Joseph unknowingly thrusts himself and his family into a bitter and emotionally draining life-or-death conflict. Joseph fights to maintain his spiritual integrity while trying desperately to keep his family together and his farm alive. He and James witness abhorring violence at the hands of the Romans, and outlandish abuses of power by their own religious leaders. As his family’s faith and hopes are threatened by scandal and scorn, James struggles between the boy he is and the man he must become.Before Bethlehem is an eye-opening account of the Nativity story told in a suspenseful, historical context that dares to ask the question: If Joseph should have turned Mary over to be stoned, why didn’t he? His profound answer is one that forever changes the life of his son, James. And it may just change yours, as well."Readers who've enjoyed religious fiction from Taylor Caldwell and Francine Rivers will particularly enjoy." - Kirkus Reviews

Sarah


Orson Scott Card - 2000
    He appeared before her in her father's house, filthy from the desert, tired and thirsty. But as the dirt of travel was washed from his body, the sight of him filled her heart. And when Abram promises Sarai to return in ten years to take her for his wife, her fate was sealed.Abram kept his promise, and Sarai kept hers they were wed, and so joined the royal house of Ur with the high priesthood of the Hebrews. So began a lifetime of great joy together, and greater peril: and with the blessing of their God, a great nation would be built around the core of their love.Bestselling author Orson Scott Card uses his fertile imagination, and uncanny insight into human nature, to tell the story of a unique woman--one who is beautiful, tough, smart, and resourceful in an era when women had little power, and are scarce in the historical record. Sarah, child of the desert, wife of Abraham, takes on vivid reality as a woman desirable to kings, a devoted wife, and a faithful follower of the God of Abraham, chosen to experience an incomparable miracle.

Great Lion of God


Taylor Caldwell - 1970
    Saul Tarshish, or, as the Romans called him, Paul of Tarsus, the intellectual Pharisee, lawyer, theologian & ,finally the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Sarah


Marek Halter - 2003
    The daughter of a powerful lord, Sarah balks at the marriage her father has planned for her. On her wedding day, she impulsively flees to the vast, empty marshes outside the city walls, where she meets a young man named Abram, son of a tribe of outsiders. Drawn to this exotic stranger, Sarah spends one night with him and reluctantly returns to her father’s house. But on her return, she secretly drinks a poisonous potion that will make her barren and thus unfit for marriage.Many years later, Abram returns to Ur and discovers that the lost, rebellious girl from the marsh has been transformed into a splendid woman—the high priestess of the goddess Ishtar. But Sarah gives up her exalted life to join Abram’s tribe and follow the one true God, an invisible deity who speaks only to Abram. It is then that her journey truly begins.From the great ziggurat of Ishtar to the fertile valleys of Canaan to the bedchamber of the mighty Pharaoh himself, Sarah’s story reveals an ancient world full of beauty, intrigue, and miracles.

Israel, My Beloved


Kay Arthur - 1996
    Kay Arthur's dramatic, epic-style novel is now available in softcover with a beautiful new cover and a historical timeline that corresponds with the fascinating retelling of Israel's story. History comes alive as Kay begins with the tragic mistakes that led to Israel's captivity by Babylon and takes readers all the way to the modern-day miracles of triumph against all odds. A heartwarming novel filled with adventure and suspense, Israel, My Beloved is an incredible testimony of God's great love and faithfulness even in Israel's darkest hour.

Overweight Mail Order Bride For A Half-Blind Cowboy


Terri Grace - 2015
    Spurned for her size, and broken hearted as she stands by and watches all of her peers married off, Mindy is led by God to respond to an advert to become a Mail Order Bride to a mystery man on the wilds of the Western Frontier. It’s 1871 and the Frontier is as wild, and as lonely, as ever. Mindy Silvers is a gutsy and beautiful young lady, who dares to believe God and respond to a call into the unknown as a Mail Order Bride. But her journey to Horatio Attwood’s homestead will not be an easy one. She failed to mention her size to her husband-to-be, and Mindy must overcome insurmountable odds, both inwardly and outwardly, to win her prize. And Mindy is not the only with a secret. Horatio too must overcome his own doubt and shame before he can embrace his destiny, and is bride. ‘Overweight Mail Order Bride For A Half-Blind Cowboy’ is a sweet, clean, historical Mail Order Bride tale of one gutsy woman’s journey to love and happiness. In this heart warming 'Destined For Love' series, strong and courageous Mail Order Brides overcome deep personal challenges to find lasting love with faithful men on the Western Frontier. Visit all the books in the series! Overweight Mail Order Bride For A Half-Blind Cowboy Crippled Mail Order Bride For A Faithful Frontier Cowboy (COMING SOON – JULY 2015) Burned But Beautiful Mail Order Bride For A Pioneer Doctor (COMING SOON – JULY 2015)

The Templars, Two Kings, and a Pope


Grigor Fedan - 2009
    In these pages we learn of the secret war the Templars waged against the French King Philip IV, the workings of The Brotherhood, the shadowy organization that operated behind the scenes, the machinations of Lord Otto de Grandson, a Swiss-born, high-ranking Brotherhood member and key English official who enginereed the secret war; one of its outcomes was the founding of Switzerland."A truly riveting novel from beginniing to end, this is the stuff of which blockbuster Hollywood movies are made." Midwest Book Review."Unlike most fiction about the Templars, this novel has been painstakingly researched...the detail is incredibly accurate." Knight Templar Magazine.

The Gilded Chamber: A Novel of Queen Esther


Rebecca Kohn - 2004
    This sweeping, meticulously researched novel restores Esther to her full, complex humanity while reanimating the glittering Persian empire in which her story unfolded. Esther comes to that land as a terrified Jewish orphan betrothed to her cousin, a well-connected courtier. She finds a world racked by intrigue and unfathomable hatreds and realizes that the only way to survive is to win the heart of its king. Passionate, suspenseful, and historically authentic, The Gilded Chamber illuminates the dilemma of a woman torn between her heart and her sense of duty, resulting in pure narrative enchantment.