by Janet Martin Soskice. In this delightful, true-life adventure tale, an intrepid pair of middle-aged twins challenge gender limitations imposed by genteel Victorian society by successfully undertaking a hands-on quest to uncover lost biblical manuscripts. Instead of observing a lengthy period of mourning, recently widowed Scottish twins Agnes and Margaret Smith channeled their joint grief into action, setting out on the journey of a lifetime. Fueled by their strict Presbyterian faith, a passion for the Near East that extended to a self-taught mastery of Greek, Arabic, and Syriac, and armed with an intriguing rumor passed on by a sympathetic scholar, they sallied forth in 1892 to St. Catherine's monastery, located on a remote and inhospitable corner of the Sinai Peninsula. Overcoming the harsh and unforgiving terrain, and the reservations of the resident monks, Agnes and Margaret eventually unearthed the earliest known versions of the gospels. Soskice's pitch-perfect chronicle not only captures the spirit, the faith, and the determination of the remarkable Smith sisters but also exposes a significant scriptural controversy that continues to ignite scholarly debate. --Booklist (Check Catalog)
Friday, September 11, 2009
The sisters of Sinai : how two lady adventurers discovered the Hidden Gospels
by Janet Martin Soskice. In this delightful, true-life adventure tale, an intrepid pair of middle-aged twins challenge gender limitations imposed by genteel Victorian society by successfully undertaking a hands-on quest to uncover lost biblical manuscripts. Instead of observing a lengthy period of mourning, recently widowed Scottish twins Agnes and Margaret Smith channeled their joint grief into action, setting out on the journey of a lifetime. Fueled by their strict Presbyterian faith, a passion for the Near East that extended to a self-taught mastery of Greek, Arabic, and Syriac, and armed with an intriguing rumor passed on by a sympathetic scholar, they sallied forth in 1892 to St. Catherine's monastery, located on a remote and inhospitable corner of the Sinai Peninsula. Overcoming the harsh and unforgiving terrain, and the reservations of the resident monks, Agnes and Margaret eventually unearthed the earliest known versions of the gospels. Soskice's pitch-perfect chronicle not only captures the spirit, the faith, and the determination of the remarkable Smith sisters but also exposes a significant scriptural controversy that continues to ignite scholarly debate. --Booklist (Check Catalog)
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