My hope for you, the reader, is that you will feel a compulsion to read the entire Bible straight through. It was bought for you by the men and women of the past, paid for in blood and tears. It remains the most powerful, and controversial, book ever written, and to neglect it is to do a disservice to our legacy of women, and the battle for our right to read it.
However, reading the Bible straight through is not an easy task. I heartily recommend Judy Reamer’s “Divide and Conquer” system of reading it. You can find more information at: www.judyreamer.com
This is the system I use personally, and have found it has impacted my ability to read Scripture a great deal. (You can visit Judy’s Web site and find the “Divide and Conquer” teaching available as a CD or DVD set. There are printouts on her Web site as well, but these won’t make sense until you’ve heard the teaching.)
Please note, I am not asking you to believe. I am not asking you to convert, whether you are agnostic, atheist, or of another religious persuasion. I remain convinced that God can and will speak for Himself as you read the Bible.
If we do not hold onto the victories our ancestors have won for us, we must fight their battles again.
Personal Note to Readers
This book started in a hotel room in Denver, Colorado, in 2006. I had just been told by my agent that I needed to begin a new series right away. I had no idea what to write. Dejected, I sat on the bed and muttered a prayer. What on earth was I going to write?
In the back of my mind, in a way that only novelists can understand, a man began talking. He was the Scribe. I listened and realized this was my story. It wasn’t until I returned home and began researching angels that I realized there really is a scribe angel mentioned in Scripture. I was mesmerized!
The study of angels is fascinating: They’re sent to minister to us, they’re often terrifying to see, and they’re eternal beings. They know your history better than any genealogist. I’ve never seen an angel, though I frequently beg God for the chance. Honestly, I wonder if He’s protecting me, because I already “hear voices” when I write, so to see angels might make me seem certifiably crazy. I have had some unusual experiences, like many of you, however.
One lazy afternoon, before I had children, I was napping on the couch. I woke but did not move. I heard men’s voices, deep and soft, and as I listened, I could not understand what they were saying. Of course, I reasoned, it was the TV. I must have left it on when I fell asleep. So I stirred to turn it off, and the voices snapped to a stop.
The TV was not on.
I’ve always wondered if I heard angels talking that day.
I don’t dwell too much on thoughts of the supernatural, though. I have enough trouble in the world I can see. But there are moments when I am aware of a world overshadowing ours. While working on this book, my family began to have the strangest experiences of our lives: family members having the same nightmare at the precise same moment in the bleak hours of the night, startled awake by our dogs who were howling in response to something no one else could see or hear. (I used these nightmares in Anne’s dream of a menacing black bridge.) We had children complaining of nighttime shadowy visitors who wanted to communicate with them. I heard a voice speaking to me one morning, too, and thinking it to be my husband, I turned and saw I was alone. At least, I hoped I was! (For the record, a little holy anointing oil on the doorframes and a mother’s finger-wagging prayer works wonders.) I don’t understand any of it, but as I dig into book two of this series, and continue to read the Bible from cover to cover and back again, perhaps I’ll grow in my faith enough to understand.
One thing I do know right now: to write well requires pausing. Reading, too, is a pause. In these rich, still moments, the Spirit of God, who permeates the world around us, breaks through the chaos and creates something new in our hearts. It takes great effort to pause. I am learning to do it more often. Thank you for taking time to pause with me. I hope God did something new in your heart, not because of my words, but because you were still and listening for Him in these pages.
That’s why I write. To pursue truth and change, to empower women and stir up hope. For the next two novels in this Scribe series, I will be telling you the stories of the most important women in history and the angels who guarded them. They won’t all be famous women, but their lives and deaths bought for us the opportunities we have today. We’ll walk with them through the most turbulent times in medieval history (and indeed, world history) and we’ll stand ready for the future.
Grace to you all,
Ginger
www.GingerGarrett.com
Notes
From Anne’s churching:
The service is taken from The Book of Common Prayer. It appears to be a copy of the 1552 version. My copy contains the letter that Queen Elizabeth, Henry and Anne’s daughter, wrote to the churches, and was published by Wm. Collins Sons & Co., Ltd. 144 Cathedral Street, Glasgow. There is no date of publication, but on the inside cover there is a delightful little inscription: “To Ethel, that the happiness and hopes of this day may always stay fresh in our hearts. Martin. May 29th, 1939.” The book was a precious gift from my London friend Paul Kercal, who is a fellow ginger-top and thoroughly British. God be with you and yours, Paul.
Henry’s letters to Anne:
Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn
By Henry VIII
Amsterdam: Fredonia Books, 2006
Details on Anne Askew’s burning:
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
(Thomas Garrett’s martyrdom is there as well.)
Bibliography
God’s Bestseller: William Tyndale, Thomas More, and the Writing of the English Bible—A Story of Martyrdom and Betrayal, Brian Moynahan (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2003).
Henry VIII, Jasper Ridley (London: Penguin Classic Biography, 2002).
In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture, Alister McGrath (New York: Anchor Books, 2002).
The Life of Thomas More, Peter Ackroyd (New York: Anchor, 1999).
The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn, Retha M. Warnicke (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991).
The Riverside Gardens of Thomas More’s London, C. Paul Christianson (New Haven, CT: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in Britis, Yale University Press, 2006).
Wide As the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired, Benson Bobrick (New York: Penguin Books 2002)
Discussion Questions
1. Read the verse in Leviticus 20:21. Catherine married Henry’s older brother, but the brother died soon after the wedding. Catherine said the marriage was never consummated; therefore, she was free to marry Henry. Was Henry right or wrong in seeking a divorce from Catherine based on this verse of Leviticus?
2. Every character did what they believed was right and what they believed honored God. When you think of your favorite character, what actions stand out to you? Were they right or wrong?
3. Are there any true villains in this story? Sir Thomas burned Christians alive, but believed he was saving the world from heresy. Henry cast Catherine aside and beheaded Anne, but he was trying to give England an heir to the throne and prevent a civil war. Good people can do bad things in the name of God. How are we to judge between good and evil?
4. Why did everyone have such radically different ideas about serving God? How do you see this dilemma played out in the evening news? What about in your very own family or church?
5. What were you taught in school about the Reformation? Did you have a low opinion of Anne Boleyn and a high opinion of Thomas More? Who controls history, and how does this affect our judgment?
6. Can you know God if you’ve never read the entire Bible? People died gruesome deaths for the right to read the Bible. Were their deaths in vain?
7. Read Revelation 20:12. How do you feel about these books being opened on the Day of Judgment?
8. Not everyone is pleased to think there may be sup
ernatural creatures walking with us. How does it make you feel?
9. Angels are eternal beings. They have seen the women of your family line for thousands of years. If the Scribe appeared to you tonight and gave you one chance to see a woman from your past, what woman—or what time period—would you most like to see?
10. The Bible says angels are sent to minister to believers. Have you ever had an “angelic encounter”? Are you comfortable sharing it?
About the Author
Ginger Garrett is the critically acclaimed author of Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther, which was recognized as one of the top five novels of 2006 by the ECPA, Dark Hour, and Beauty Secrets of the Bible. An expert in ancient women’s history, Ginger creates novels and nonfiction resources that explore the lives of historical women. A frequent media guest and television host, Ginger has been interviewed by Fox News, The Good Life Show, NPR, Billy Graham’s The Hour of Decision, The Harvest Show, and many other outlets.
In 2007, Ginger was nominated for the Georgia Author of the Year Award for her novel Dark Hour. A graduate of Southern Methodist University with a degree in theater, she is passionate about creating art from history. In her free time, Ginger likes running and biking and is wild about animals, especially dogs. She lives in Georgia with her husband, three children, two dogs, assorted fish, and a bearded dragon named Goliath.
You can learn more about Ginger and her work by visiting her on the Web at www.GingerGarrett.com.
What people are saying about …
In the Shadow of Lions
“Ginger Garrett has brilliantly blended fact and fiction, faith, and fallacy to create a saga so real that I hung on every word. I will never again open my Bible without gratitude for the women of faith who dared to defy the deceived that God’s Word might be read by all. In the Shadow of Lions is truly a masterpiece!”
Kathy Herman, author of the Phantom
Hollow series and Sophie Trace Trilogy
“Garrett unveils history’s secrets to tell you the tale you’ve never heard about the greatest story ever told. Exceptional in every way, with characters that will haunt your dreams long after you’ve turned the last page. Don’t miss it!”
Siri Mitchell, author of A Constant Heart
“Angels, demons, life and death, a religion gone mad, love, murder, the power of a crazed king, and three women’s lives, two in the past and one in the present, all consumed by one mighty book that set the world aflame, sparking the Reformation. This is one of those stories that will keep you captivated to the very last page and one you’ll be thinking about long after you’re done reading it.”
M. L. Tyndall, author of the award-winning
Legacy of the King’s Pirates series
“Far more than just a beautiful cover, In the Shadow of Lions drew me into the life of Anne Boleyn and presented a side to this tragic historical figure I had never considered. Elegantly, and with no small amount of intrigue, Ginger Garrett posits that history may have cast Anne into an undeserved light, which reminds the reader that it is not for us to judge others and their motivations. Enthusiastically recommended!”
Tamara Leigh, best-selling author of
Splitting Harriet and Faking Grace
“An imaginative and evocative tale of Anne Boleyn’s battle for a king’s heart and her soul’s salvation, In the Shadow of Lions etches the eternal struggle between church and state in swift, vivid prose.”
India Edghill, author of Queenmaker and Wisdom’s Daughter
“In this beautifully written novel, Ginger Garrett honors the strength and insight of two English women willing to die for their faith. In the Shadow of Lions takes readers on a remarkable journey back to the sixteenth century and shows the incredible power of a book shared in secret by women across London.”
Melanie Dobson, author of The Black Cloister and Going for Broke
In the Shadow of Lions Page 25