Author:Janet Soskice
'The hunt for early Bible manuscripts was among the most romantic of all the 19th century's grand quests...At the heart of this lively, inspiring double biography is the story of how a pair of spirited Presbyterian women made their own extraordinary discovery' Sunday Times
Sisters of Sinai is the story of how Scottish twin sisters made one of the most important manuscript finds of the nineteenth century - an early copy of the gospels which lay hidden in the Sinai desert. We trace the footsteps of the intrepid pair from the Ayrshire of their childhood, as they voyage to Egypt, Sinai and beyond, coping with camels, unscrupulous dragomen, and unpredictable welcomes, not least from the academics of their adopted home in Cambridge.
Fast-paced, informative and written with dry wit, this is a story of two remarkable women, undeterred in their spirit of adventure, who overcame insuperable odds to claim a place in history.
The hunt for early Bible manuscripts was among the most romantic of all the 19th century's grand quests... At the heart of this lively, inspiring double biography is the story of how a pair of spirited Presbyterian women made their own extraordinary discovery
—— Sunday TimesA bracing and moving book...a reminder of the ardour, hardship and energy invested in the pursuit of knowledge and that endlessly inquiring and industrious Victorian age
—— New York TimesThis pacy tale involves not only an Indiana Jones-like quest, but camel rides across the Sinai desert, trips up the Nile, bickerings, misunderstandings and confusions... A cracking tale of two irresistible characters
—— Herald[A] luminous new study... Sisters of Sinai is by turns a rattling adventure yarn - thick with roving Bedouin and ancient tombs - and a testament to the power of perseverance
—— Washington PostMarvellous... A fine, fascinating account
—— Los Angeles TimesIn 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 WheelerAn 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 CornwellThis rattling tale appears to come straight from an Indiana Jones adventure... Janet Soskice had done an excellent job in piecing together the lives of two remarkable, and largely forgotten women
—— Marc Horne , Scotland on SundaySoskice tells the story with scholarly conviction... [This] biography is one to be earmarked
—— www.thebookbag.co.ukAn ambitious and attractive book. Its tone is learned, thoughtful and usually intimate...a finely balanced and well-told experiment that will echo with many readers
—— Independent