The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels (Vintage) [Paperback]

Janet Soskice (Author)

Book Description

Series: Vintage | Publication Date: August 24, 2010

A Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Year
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
A Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Agnes and Margaret Smith were not your typical Victorian scholars or adventurers. Female, middle-aged, and without university degrees or formal language training, the twin sisters nevertheless made one of the most important scriptural discoveries of their time: the earliest known copy of the Gospels in ancient Syriac, the language that Jesus spoke. In an era when most Westerners—male or female—feared to tread in the Middle East, they slept in tents and endured temperamental camels, unscrupulous dragomen, and suspicious monks to become unsung heroines in the continuing effort to discover the Bible as originally written.

Editorial Reviews

From Bookmarks Magazine

To critics' delight, Soskice has resurrected the long-forgotten story of two daring women who bucked the conventions of their day and prevailed. Critics were quick to point out that this rollicking adventure tale will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers despite its religious overtones. Soskice's scholarship is impeccable, and she engages readers in the controversies surrounding the Bible in the late 19th century while skillfully evoking the prejudices of the Victorian era and placing her charming subjects squarely within it. The spirited sisters struggled for recognition and control of the "Lewis Codex" amid academic suspicion, resentment, and treachery, and Soskice has penned a worthy tribute to their perseverance. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“Marvelous. . . . [A] fine, fascinating account.” —Los Angeles Times
 
“The Sisters of Sinai is a bracing and moving book . . . a reminder of the ardor, hardship and energy invested in the pursuit of knowledge in that endlessly inquiring and industrious Victorian age.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“Luminous. . . . By turns a rattling adventure yarn . . . and a testament to the power of perseverance.” —The Washington Post Book World
 
“Sets the extraordinary life of two plucky women . . . against a backdrop of swashbuckling Bible hunters, racing each other around the world to find the latest clue in the mystery of how the Bible was first written.” —Denver Post

“You don’t need to follow a particular religion to become engrossed in this enthralling narrative. The Sisters of Sinai is a tale of grand adventure and far-flung travels, and it proves appealing even on that level. Soskice is so adept at making a rarefied subject accessible and vivid that the narrative seems almost cinematic. If the heroines hadn’t been identical twins, in a film adaptation Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith would be brilliantly cast in the lead roles.” —The Christian Science Monitor
 
“A combination travelogue, mystery story, adventure narrative, and accounting of the rivalries which beset scholars of major universities in Britain toward the end of the 19th century. . . . [Soskice] catches the ‘feel’ of the era and brings these forgotten scholars to life.” —Charleston Gazette
 
“We compliment some non-fiction books by saying they read like novels, but The Sisters of Sinai reads better than a novel. Filled with tales of derring-do, arcane knowledge, persistence in the face of extraordinary odds, and the acquiring of and preservation of priceless knowledge, The Sisters of Sinai does what the best books do—makes you want to know much more.” —The Daily Herald (Utah)
 
“Lively and inspiring. . . . Thrilling. . . . Soskice describes those days of urgent outdoor transcription with the understandable yearning of a 21st-century theologian for whom such pioneering triumphs can only be a dream. Her deft handling of a travel yarn and her feel for the culture-bucking momentum of the twins’ lives makes the dream a compelling one.” —The Times (London)
 
“This rattling tale appears to come straight from an Indiana Jones adventure. . . . Yet this real-life expedition was not led by a whip-cracking archaeologist, but by two God-fearing Ayrshire twins. . . . Janet Soskice has done an excellent job in piecing together the lives of two remarkable, and largely forgotten women who, like Moses, made a discovery at Mount Sinai that would transform their lives forever.” —The Scotsman
 
“An absorbing and delightful chronicle, both of two fascinating women and of a crucial moment in the history of modern faith and modern disenchantment.” —First Things
 
“In Sisters of Sinai Janet Soskice has achieved the impossible—she has brought biblical scholarship to life. A gripping story of two spirited women determined to pursue the truth whatever the cost, with camels to boot. Wonderful.” —Sara Wheeler, author of Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garard
 
“This meticulously researched effort takes what for decades has been an intriguing footnote in the history of textual serendipity and gives it the full examination it so richly deserves. . . .Exciting.” —Fine Book Magazine
 
“An extraordinary and compelling book, combining vivid travel adventures, wonderful characters, and absorbing journeys of the mind and heart. Janet Soskice brilliantly and accessibly unfolds one of the most gripping sagas of Biblical detection, while telling the story of two magnificent women who trespassed intrepidly in worlds that sought to exclude them.” —John Cornwell, author of Hitler’s Pope

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (August 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400034744
• ISBN-13: 978-1400034741
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > History > Middle East > Syria

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read., September 5, 2009

By 

A. Rubin "language prof." (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels (Hardcover)

I thought that this book was a highly readable, fascinating account of Gibson and Lewis. These two women were among the most important scholars of Syriac (among other things) in the 19th century. They discovered important manuscripts of the Syriac Gospels in Sinai, and much of this book discusses their various trips to Sinai to work in the Monastery of St. Catherine. But readers also learn a lot about Cambridge life, their travels to other places, and the history of biblical scholarship. Quite enjoyable.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sinai Bible, October 2, 2009

By 

P. Newman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels (Hardcover)

This excellent, well written book, gives us an insight into the late Victorian era in England and the improving recognition of women and their capabilities. The two extremely wealthy twin sisters with a yen to travel and a deeply religious bent travel extensively in Egypt and then the Holy land, before getting a notion to visit the isolated monastery of St. Catherine's in the Sinai desert to look at old manuscripts. They come across a palimpsest whose bottom text appears to be an ancient Gospel in Syriac. Two amateurs making such an important discovery led to an extraordinary interest on the part of orientalist scholars. A subsequent expedition with a number of well established scholars led to better understanding of what they had and a bitter dispute over who should get credit for the find. The end result was that the sisters studied intensively to become recognized experts in the field and collectors of ancient manuscripts which they translated and published over the rest of their lifetime getting much recognition and rarely (to women) conferred honorary degrees. This was an excellent read.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book on Many Levels, November 11, 2009

By 

J. Hollerbach "Bookaholic Anonymous" (Nutmeg State) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels (Hardcover)

My grandmother always used to say that "truth is stranger than fiction." It took me many years to appreciate that statement. And Janet Soskice has certainly provided strong evidence for that with this well-written biography. She has written a multi-layered book that becomes more and more fascinating as each section unfolds. This is not only a book about how an ancient manuscript of the Gospels was discovered, although that would have been interesting alone. Janet Soskice manages to intertwine the story of two sisters, twins whose circumstances were so unusual that their Presbyterian belief in Providence would be difficult to dispute, with attitudes toward women in the 19th Century, the excitement of the Academy during the Victorian era, and a travelogue of the Middle East. The book is rich, complex, exciting and sometimes extremely frustrating, as various characters render their judgments about gender, religion and values. It is very real and very genuine. The author treats her subjects with the respect they clearly deserve, while not glossing over their bigotry and eccentricities. She is, likewise, very clear in revealing the bigotry that the sisters received at the hands of the Academy, especially Cambridge. As the sisters launch on their search for manuscripts, the book can read as well as any good detective story. And the conflicts between the sisters and the more established members of academia bring some high drama and tension to the book. So the story itself is well written and quite fascinating. What I found so incredible about the book, however, was the sisters themselves. This is a story of overcoming incredible obstacles, of digging in and getting things done when, objectively, one's goals seem daunting at best and impossible at worst. In short, Janet Soskice has written the story of two absolutely amazing women who traveled through the Sinai desert without husbands when that was unheard of; befriended some wonderful Greek Orthodox monks even though they were staunch Presbyterians; discovered obscure documents written in Syriac (not exactly the ligua franca of the day); and became two of the top Orientalists in their era - and in middle age yet! It is the story of relationships developed (I just loved their relationship with Solomon Schechter!) with others who were as excited about religion, God and scholarship as they were. All in all, it was a pleasure reading of how their lives so beautifully and brilliantly unfolded, and how scholarship, religion, and their own natures grew and expanded as a result of their adventures. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of religion, the Victorian era, women's studies, archeology, or anyone who just enjoys settling down to a great read.