Examples of what I regard as great Biblical Fiction. It is not necessarily Christian Fiction, clean, or child friendly. Biblical Fiction to me means the author took his/her inspiration from Biblical stories and characters.
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. A modern dystopia called Gilead. Highly reminiscent of Sarah, Hagar, and Abraham in Genesis 16.
The Secret Chord, by Geraldine Brooks. The best fictionalized account of King David I have seen. From the Perspective of his court prophet, Nathan.
The Fifth Gospel, by Ian Caldwell. A fictionalized but very believable account of an investigation into the Shroud of Turin.
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant. The story of Jacob and Leah’s only daughter, Dinah. Raises questions of how we would have read stories of the patriarchs if women had been allowed to tell them.
Atticus by Ron Hansen. National Book Award nominee tells the story of the Prodigal Son in a modern setting.
The Advocate, by Randy Singer. Theophilus sponsored Luke in writing his Gospel and the Book of Acts. Singer imagines he asked Luke to write these documents as a legal defense of Paul when he appeared for trial before Nero. Don’t know if I agree with that, but a compelling read nonetheless.
David Anderson 