This is one of the books I’ve found lurking on the shelves in my old bedroom. I took it home for a re-read and was pleasantly surprised to find it still very readable. Norah Lofts wrote a lot of general historical fiction, but this is one of a couple of Biblical themed books, the other one I know about being Esther, a novel about the Jewish girl who married a Persian king and saved her people from a planned pogrom.
This one is about the journey of the Three Wise Men, each of whom has his own biographical chapter. Only one of them, Gaspar, is actually a king, and that’s only because he conquered a city state and settled down there with his Horde. He is a Mongol.
Melchior is Korean and an astronomer/astrologer. He was once a wealthy man, but sold everything to set up his tower to observe the stars and has since lived with one slave, a woman who has loved him since their youth, but never managed to get the attention of her nerdy master. He is the first to set off, to warn the child of destiny’s parents of his danger.
Balthazar is African, an escaped slave. He has had a few visions too, mainly of the future, in a polished surface. He is an accountant by trade, which is just as well, because the other two are naive in everything except their own special areas. Gaspar is a bit like Twoflower, the Discworld tourist who is carrying around a lot of gold coins that he doesn’t know are worth a lot outside his country. They are, in fact, valuable coins that brides receive to wear on their foreheads till needed. Balthazar, horrified at how many have been spent, takes over the finances of the group.
So - only one actual king - and his gift of gold is the crown of the last king of his city. The frankincense was meant to be an offering in Gaspar’s city, but was handed to him as he was leaving. He hates the smell, so gives it to Melchior. The myrrh is a healing ointment.
Not only the Magi have biographies - there is one for the innkeeper and even one for one of the shepherds in the stable! By the time the stable scene happens you know everyone in it, including the main actors, Mary and Joseph. Even Herod gets a viewpoint!
The language is plain, modern English, but not colloquial. I liked that. Admittedly Nazareth feels like a small English village and I’m not sure all the animals and plants described were to be found in that country at the time. But I found it easy to suspend disbelief.
Hopefully you will too, if you can get hold of a copy.
12 comments:
Hi Sue - thanks for reminding me about her ... I'll get one at least one out of the library - when we can get back to that sort of normality. I'm not sure I've read any of hers. But I will definitely look anon ... take care - Hilary
Hi Hilary! Glad I was able to remind you, and hope you will find at least one of her books in the library!
What an interesting take on the bible story. I have to laugh at the thought one of the three Wise Men was an accountant. Sounds so mundane!
Hi Anita! Yes, that’s precisely what I liked about it. You rarely get any background to these three. The only one I can think of was in Ben-Hur, where Balthasar was a wealthy Egyptian with a daughter who betrays him by running off with the evil Messala. I prefer the accountant.
This sounds kind of interesting. The biographies of all the characters sounds creative.
As for fitting all the animals in the stable, if they could fit several million species in the ark I guess they can really pack them in.
Hi Brian! No, just a couple of donkeys, and one of those belongs to the inn, the other to Joseph and Mary. It’s a stable. The shepherds don’t even bring a lamb! They work for someone else, so not their lamb to bring.
I remember reading and enjoying this book when I was an adolescent. I would have borrowed it from our local library.
Hi Debra! Yes, I suspect it was aimed at young readers, especially the Sunday school crowd. Really, they could do worse.
Something I'd read around Christmastime, personally. But I read according to seasons as much as I can.
Hi Guillaume! Yes, it does sound like Christmas reading. Personally, my own Christmas reading is Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising. 🙂
This looks really fascinating. I'm not particularly religious, but I've always enjoyed biblical stories. I'll have to see if my local library can find a copy... when it's open again, that is.
It’s a nice, gentle novel. I enjoyed it, and it’s not even my religion! I hope your library has it, but if not, you may find it on ABEBooks. I doubt it’s in print any longer.
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