The Centurion's Wife, Paperback

Christian Book Award

Janette Oke has dreamed for years of retelling a story in a biblical time frame from a female protagonist's perspective, and Davis Bunn is elated to be working with her again on this sweeping saga of the dramatic events surrounding the birth of Christianity...and the very personal story of Leah, a young Jewess of mixed heritage trapped in a vortex of competing political agendas and private trauma.

Caught up in the maelstrom following the death of an obscure rabbi in the Roman backwater of first-century Palestine, Leah finds herself also engulfed in her own turmoil--facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a Roman soldier, Alban, who seems to care for nothing but his own ambitions. Head of the garrison near Galilee, he has been assigned by Palestine's governor to ferret out the truth behind rumors of a political execution gone awry. Leah's mistress, the governor's wife, secretly commissions Leah also to discover what really has become of this man whose death--and missing body--is causing such furor.

This epic drama is threaded with the tale of an unlikely romance and framed with dangers and betrayals from unexpected sources. At its core, The Centurion's Wife unfolds the testing of loyalties--between two young people whose inner searchings they cannot express, between their irreconcilable heritages, and ultimately between their humanity and the Divine they yearn to encounter.

About the Author:

Davis Bunn, the author of twenty bestsellers, has received numerous accolades, including three Christy Awards for excellence in fiction. His books have sold more than six million copies in sixteen languages. He and his wife, Isabella, make their home near Oxford, England, where they teach and write. Davis serves as Writer-In-Residence at Regent's Park College, Oxford University, and is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Janette Oke, recipient of the 1992 ECPA President's Award and the 1999 CBA Life Impact Award for her significant contribution to the Christian book industry, has also won both the Gold Medallion Award and the Christy Award for fiction. Janette and her husband, Edward, live in Alberta, Canada.