Rachel and Leah - (Women of Genesis) by Orson Scott Card (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: Salt Lake City, Utah: Shadow Mountain, 2004.

Book Synopsis

Rachel and Leah is book three in New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card's Women of Genesis series--a unique reimagining of the biblical tale.

Tracing their lives from childhood to maturity, Card shows how the women of Genesis change each other--and are changed again by the holy books that Jacob brings with him.

Leah, the oldest daughter of Laban, whose "tender eyes" prevent her from fully participating in the daily work of her nomadic family, and Rachel, the spoiled younger daughter, the petted and privileged beauty of the family--or so it seems to Leah.

There is also Bilhah, an orphan who is not quite a slave but not really a family member, a young woman desperately searching to fit in, and Zilpah, who knows only how to use her beauty to manipulate men as she strives to secure for herself something better than the life of drudgery and servitude into which she has been born.

Into the desert camp comes Jacob, a handsome and charismatic kinsman who is clearly destined to be Rachel's husband. But that doesn't prevent the other women from vying for his attention.

Ambition, jealousy, fear, and love motivate them as they vie for the attention of Jacob, heir to the spiritual birthright of Abraham and Isaac.

Women of Genesis
#1 Sarah
#2 Rebekah
#3 Rachel and Leah

Review Quotes

Praise for Sarah

"This series is definitely for those interested in women in the Bible, and in such novels as The Red Tent (by NYT bestseller Anita Diamant)." --Kliatt

"The story moves swiftly, climaxing at several points, such as Abram and Sarai's stay in Egypt when the pharaoh wants to take Sarai as his wife. It is a quick and interesting read....This is an intriguing story ."--Pittsburg Post-Gazette

"This playfully speculative novel succeeds in bringing Sarah's soft-overlooked character into vivid relief."--Publishers Weekly

"This is an inventive and engaging telling of the life of Sarah, the woman who laughed at God's news (that so old a woman would now bear a child)--and who gives as good as she gets throughout both the book of Genesis and Card's novel." --Historical Novel Society

About the Author

ORSON SCOTT CARD is the author of the international bestsellers Shadow of the Giant, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Hegemon, Ender's Shadow, and of the beloved classic of science fiction, Ender's Game, as well as the acclaimed fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.