John the Baptizer A Novel [Hardcover]

Traditionally, John the Baptist is seen as little more than an opening actthe voice crying in the wildernessin the great Christian drama. In presenting the epic of Johns life, novelist Brooks Hansen draws on an extraordinary array of inspirations, from the works of Caravaggio, Bach, and Oscar Wilde to the histories of Josephus, the canonical gospels, the Gnostic gospels, and the sacred texts of those followers of John who never accepted Jesus as Messiah: the Mandeans.Gripping as literary historical fiction, and fascinating as a diligent exploration of ancient and modern sources, this book brings to eye-opening life the richly textured worldpopulated by the magnificently sordid, calculating, and reckless Herods, their families, and their courtsinto which both John and Jesus were born.A vivid, moving, and unprecedented biographical saga of John the Baptist.