mark of the lion trilogy francine rivers

Arranged Marriage: Julia’s first, to an older man who is kindly enough but has absolutely nothing in common with her.Also Alexander to Hadassah, and Julia to Atretes. Anguished Declaration of Love: Marcus to Hadassah, more than once.All Take and No Give: Julia tends towards this in many of her relationships, though it’s most prominent (and destructive) in her affair with Atretes.All Girls Want Bad Boys: This is defintiely true of Julia, who finds her lovers’ worldliness glamorous and doesn’t seem to realize the consequences of taking lovers who flaunt the rules and don’t shy away from underhanded (or worse) ways of dealing with any unpleasantness.Averted with Prometheus, but mostly because he doesn’t want to be gay. All Gays are Promiscuous: Mostly played straight (but then, who in ancient Rome isn’t?).It’s worth noting that in this case it’s at least somewhat Truth in Television, since this was almost the only form of legal/socially acceptable homosexuality for men in ancient Rome. All Gays Are Pedophiles: All major gay characters are presented as one side or the other of this.

These novels contain examples of the following tropes:

The primary link between the first two novels and the third is Julia Valerian, Marcus’ hedonistic younger sister who, in her pursuit of control over her own life, strikes up an affair with Atretes.Ĭomplex character arcs, historical and Biblical exposition, action, and intrigue all wind up to form a beautifully-crafted fictional testament to how Love Redeems.Įach installment’s official page on the author’s website can be found here, here, and here. The third novel, As Sure as the Dawn, focuses on Atretes, the high chief of a Germanic tribe who is captured and forced to be a gladiator, and is more like a spin-off than a direct continuation of the first two novels. They slowly fall in love but are torn by their wildly different social classes and worldviews, since Hadassah is a steadfast, selfless Christian and Marcus is dedicated to the Roman philosophies of hedonism and paganism. They form a cohesive story arc following the story of Hadassah, a young Judeo-Christian girl who is sold into slavery, and Marcus Valerian, a wealthy Roman aristocrat determined to get the most out of life. The first two novels are A Voice in the Wind and An Echo in the Darkness. They are set mostly in Rome during the first Jewish-Roman War, circa A.D.

Trilogy of Christian Historical Fiction novels published in the 1990s by Francine Rivers.

Mark of the lion trilogy francine rivers