Kirjahaku

New York Times Bestseller: A “beautifully written” and “truly outstanding” novel based on the life of Paul the Apostle (The Cincinnati Enquirer). Born a veritable great lion of God to a devout Jewish family, Saul of Tarsus is raised by his parents to embrace their love of humanity. Dogged by what he perceives as a lack of true faith, he embarks on a journey to save his people from sacrilege. But on the road to Damascus a vision of the resurrected Jesus changes the course of his life. Converting to Christianity, the newly christened Paul transforms from persecutor of blasphemers into apostle to the gentiles, becoming one of the supreme influences on the Catholic Church and the Western world. Great Lion of God paints a unique and very human portrait of Saint Paul, one of the most passionate, dauntless, and complex figures of early Christianity—Pharisee, lawyer, theologian, and above all, a “man like ourselves with our own despairs, doubts, anxieties and angers and intolerances, and ‘lusts of the flesh.’” The central novel in author Taylor Caldwell’s biblical trilogy, which also includes Dear and Glorious Physician and I, Judas, Great Lion of God is both “sheer entertainment” and a moving tribute to the majesty and power of the Christian faith (Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

New York Times Bestseller: A magnificent novel of ancient Rome and the tragic life of Cicero, who tried in vain to save the republic he loved from tyranny. In this riveting tale, the Roman Empire in its final glory is seen through the eyes of philosopher, orator, and political theorist Marcus Tullius Cicero. From his birth in 106 BC in the hill town of Arpinum, Cicero, the educated son of a wealthy member of the equestrian order, is destined for greatness. At a young age, he discovers the legend of the Unknown God, the coming Messiah, and it propels the rising lawyer on a journey of spiritual conflict and self-discovery. From his tumultuous family life to his tenuous alliance with Julius Caesar to a fateful love affair with the Roman empress Livia and, finally, to the political role that will make him a target of powerful enemies, A Pillar of Iron is the story of Cicero’s legacy as one the greatest influences on Western civilization. Based on hundreds of speeches, voluminous private correspondence, and ancient texts and manuscripts, this bestselling epic brings into focus Cicero’s complicated relationships with his contemporaries, including Caesar, Mark Antony, and Crassus, and brilliantly captures the pageantry, turmoil, and intrigue of life in ancient Rome. According to legendary editor Maxwell Perkins, author “Taylor Caldwell is a storyteller first, last and foremost, and once you begin reading one of her books, you can’t help finishing it.”

Two families grow a small munitions factory into a global empire in this saga by a New York Times–bestselling author spanning from 1837 to the eve of World War I. In 1837, Joseph Barbour, an upper servant in an English village, immigrates with his family to America so he can make his fortune in the nascent artillery business. A man of vision, Joseph foresees a time when wars will not be won with courage and brave hearts but rather by the nations with superior firearms. Joseph and his family settle in a rural Pennsylvania village, but his wife, Hilda, is unhappy and longs to return to England. Their shy and sensitive younger son, Martin, is also homesick, but what troubles him most is the cruelty and violence he sees in his older brother, Ernest. Martin’s fears come to fruition when Joseph forms a gunpowder firm with Armand Bouchard, who lives with his wife and three sons down the road from the Barbours. As the years pass, Ernest proves himself invaluable to Barbour & Bouchard. Ruthless and ambitious, he takes what he wants. But beautiful Amy Drumhill continues to elude him and becomes the catalyst in a war that will estrange the two brothers and leave Ernest haunted by the blood that will be forever on his hands. Dynasty of Death is a moving saga of two families, the epic struggle between two brothers, and the legacy their guns will leave the world as mighty enemy nations gear up for battle.

New York Times Bestseller: In early 1900s Pennsylvania, the ambitious son of Irish immigrants pursues the American Dream in the face of injustice and intolerance. Fourteen-year-old Jason Aloysius Garrity is now of age to work full-time in a Pennsylvania coal factory, earning four dollars a week. His family left their hardscrabble life in Ireland to create a better one in America. But their shanty-like home on a street filled with outhouses, horse manure, and the ever-present odor of noxious gas is a hell all its own. Yet Jason possesses the passion and principles that will lift him out of the abject poverty surrounding his widowed mother, fanatically religious younger brother, and manipulative crippled sister. With World War I looming on the horizon, Jason begins to make his way in Belleville’s burgeoning business world. He marries beautiful, wealthy Patricia Mulligan, unaware that their union is built on a deception that will have far-reaching consequences not only in his life but in the lives of his three children. Filled with unforgettable characters, this masterful retelling of the Book of Job depicts one man’s will to succeed amidst the slings and arrows of fortune.

A parade of people in need of solace find a mysterious sympathizer, in this uniquely moving classic by a New York Times–bestselling author. They come day and night to confess their troubles to an anonymous listener positioned behind a curtain. Could it be a priest, a psychiatrist, a friend, or a judge? Each person draws a different conclusion. From a businessman who feels betrayed by someone he trusted, to a society woman with contempt for her husband, to a scientist troubled by what his work has wrought, the visitors’ situations vary widely as they struggle with grief, denial, prejudice, and fear. But in this small sanctuary, there are no office hours, the listener is always listening, and the visitors’ lives are forever changed. This inspiring and inventive work of fiction comes from the award-winning author of Captains and the Kings, Testimony of Two Men, and many other bestsellers. “The gift of narration and characterization which Taylor Caldwell brings to each of her books is here in strong measure.” —Kirkus Reviews “I believe [Caldwell] wanted to instill hope, renew faith, and foster love in what she saw as a society on the decline. The year was 1960. But the issues can be universally applied today.” —The Book Cafe

The world-famous novel about the triumphant story of St. Luke. Man of science, and Gospel writer. Today St. Luke is known as the author of the third Gospel of the New Testament, but two thousand years ago he was Lucanus, a Greek, a man who loved, knew the emptiness of bereavement, and later traveled through the hills and wastes of Judea asking, "What manner of man was my Lord?" And it is of this Lucanus that Taylor Caldwell tells here in one of the most stirring stories ever lived or written. Lucanus grew up in the household of his stepfather, the Roman govenor of Antioch. After studying medicine in Alexandria he became one of the greatest physicians of the ancient world and traveled far and wide through the Mediterranean region healing the sick. As time went on he learned of the life and death of Christ and saw in Him the God he was seeking. To find out all he could about the life and teachings of Jesus, whom he never saw, Lucanus visited all the places where Jesus had been, questioning everyone--including His mother, Mary--who had known Him or heard Him preach. At last, when he had gathered all information possible, he wrote down what we now know as the Gospel according to St. Luke.

New York Times Bestseller: A man who gained the world but lost his soul faces a critical midlife crisis in this suspenseful and inspiring novel about love and forgiveness. On a stormy, windswept night, Guy Jerald tried to kill himself. But he did not die. Now, the fifty-five-year-old Pennsylvania powerbroker and business titan—a living example of the American Dream—lies in a bed in a psychiatric hospital. He is on suicide watch, barely able to recognize his wife and two adult children. But a visitor from his distant past will open the floodgates. During one of the most harrowing battles of World War II, Guy saved the life of fellow soldier James Meyer. Now, James is a celebrated British psychiatrist determined to repay the favor and bring his old friend back from the brink. As the source of Guy’s pain emerges, James must come to terms with his own unfulfilled goals and a mounting crisis that will test him in ways he never could have imagined. Shifting between the past and the present, Bright Flows the River is a story of faith, friendship, and the road not taken, in which a powerful, successful man may finally get the chance to become the person he long ago dreamed he could be.

New York Times Bestseller: A breathtaking saga of ancient Greece and one of history’s most influential political couples, Aspasia and Pericles. Born in the Greek city of Miletus, Aspasia was destined for a life of tragedy. Her wealthy father vowed to abandon any female child, so Aspasia was secreted away, educated independently of her family, and raised as a courtesan. She discovered at an early age how to use her powers of intellect as ingeniously as those of the flesh. Ensconced in the Persian harems of Al Taliph, she meets the man who will change her fate: Pericles, the formidable political leader, statesman, ruler of Athens, and Aspasia’s most cherished lover. She becomes his trusted confidante, his equal through scandal, war, and revolt. From the eruption of the Peloponnesian War to violent political and family rivalries to a devastating plague, author Taylor Caldwell plunges the reader into the heart of ancient Athens. In bringing to life the tumultuous love affairs and gripping power struggles of one of history’s most complicated and fascinating women, Glory and the Lightning is thrilling proof that “Caldwell never falters when it comes to storytelling” (Publishers Weekly).

From a #1 New York Times–bestselling author: The story of Judas Iscariot—and the stunning betrayal that changed the course of history. One of the great dramas of the biblical era is brought to thrilling new life in this epic novel told from the unique perspective of Judas Iscariot himself. This is the story of Judas the myth, condemned by Dante to the most terrifying circle of Hell; Judas the man, the son of wealth and power who fought to suppress the lusts of the flesh and the sin of pride to become one of the twelve original disciples of Jesus Christ; and Judas the apostle, victim of a diabolical lie, history’s arch traitor, who sold his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, and sealed his fate with a kiss. From Judas’s years as the young rebel of an affluent family undone by his own idealism to his victimization by Pontius Pilate to the crucifixion and Christ’s resurrection, I, Judas “read[s] like a modern novel of intrigue and thrills” (Chattanooga Times). The final entry, following Dear and Glorious Physician and Great Lion of God, in a trilogy celebrating key historical figures of the Bible, it is one of the most powerful and revelatory works of religious fiction ever published.