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Gospels
The year is 1835 - in the back alleys of London John Campbell-John is running for his life. A rogue, imposter, swindler - a man without honour, without empathy for his fellow man. But his massive debts have now vindictively caught up with him. He has even stolen from his best friend. He has one option - to flee the country In Venice there is a chance encounter and an unlikely friendship emerges. Robert Babcock is everything John is not - honourable, academic, a man on an admirable quest - to travel in Egypt to find the earliest original copies of the Gospels to prove the reliability of the story of Jesus, as told in the King James Bible. Is Gospel Truth, as we say today, really undeniable. A story of discovery, of adventure from the River Nile to the endless deserts of Sinai, and ultimately a personal redemption.
250 pages, ebook
Published March 21, 2016
50 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Taylor
10 books23 followersStephen Taylor was once a happy and reasonably well-adjusted person; that was until an urge to write invaded his psyche, this need to be a writer, to tell tales. He spent his days as a Tax Inspector (Now come on out from behind the sofa - they're a fine bunch of lads and lasses at the Tax office), and shuffling his daughter to and from school. But then these thoughts began to coalesce.
A Georgian trilogy was conceived. Three stories, set in London; a decadent time, a decadent place.
The first Novel – No Quarter Asked No Quarter Given was Born (later short listed for the BritWriters Award).
The second novel, A Canopy of Stars -. A Georgian courtroom drama,
The third novel - Ripples and Shadows - a historian uncovers the story of two amazing lives. Now winner of the Great Beeston Book Read.
A forth novel - Gospels. Also set in the late Georgian era but follows the adventures of Bible hunters and takes us to Egypt and the Ottoman empire.
And see also contemporary novels - In The Morning When I Leave, and Once Upon a Thatcher Time. Also a Children’s Novel - The King of Blognogpotin
Born in Yorkshire, brought up in Manchester; he now works near Loughborough, a widower with a daughter just out of University.
Contact details:
Website: www.stephentaylorauthor.com
Email: stephen.taylor5247@ntlworld.com
Blog: stephentaylorauthor.blogspot.com
A Georgian trilogy was conceived. Three stories, set in London; a decadent time, a decadent place.
The first Novel – No Quarter Asked No Quarter Given was Born (later short listed for the BritWriters Award).
The second novel, A Canopy of Stars -. A Georgian courtroom drama,
The third novel - Ripples and Shadows - a historian uncovers the story of two amazing lives. Now winner of the Great Beeston Book Read.
A forth novel - Gospels. Also set in the late Georgian era but follows the adventures of Bible hunters and takes us to Egypt and the Ottoman empire.
And see also contemporary novels - In The Morning When I Leave, and Once Upon a Thatcher Time. Also a Children’s Novel - The King of Blognogpotin
Born in Yorkshire, brought up in Manchester; he now works near Loughborough, a widower with a daughter just out of University.
Contact details:
Website: www.stephentaylorauthor.com
Email: stephen.taylor5247@ntlworld.com
Blog: stephentaylorauthor.blogspot.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 20, 2018
Having received this book, it was not one I would have chosen.
But I am so glad i did.
I read this and enjoyed it immensely.
But I am so glad i did.
I read this and enjoyed it immensely.
March 12, 2018
Thanks to Stephen Taylor for sending me a free copy of this book, which I enjoyed. The story reminded me of the work of Michael Cox, whose novels I read a while back and also liked. I thought the precise historical timing of the story worked well; it’s set just when the questions it raises still really mattered to people, making Robert and John’s quandary real in a way that would be almost unimaginable in today’s more enlightened and secular society.
February 6, 2018
When I first started to read this book I wasn't sure I would like it, but after reading the prologue I couldn't put it down. It is a fabulous mix of history, geography, mystery and adventure. Is Gospel Truth really undeniable. Well this book certainly makes one think. Thoroughly recommended.
January 24, 2018
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Is the Bible really gospel truth? This is the question the honourable, academic Robert Babcock aims to find out on his quest to find the earliest copies of the gospels in order to prove the reliability of the story of Jesus as recounted in the King James Bible. However, this is not the key focus of Stephen Taylor’s fictional novel, Gospels. The main character is the perfidious John Campbell-John, a rogue, imposter and swindler who flees 19th-century England in an attempt to escape from his debts.
John meets the magnanimous Robert in Venice and, despite being polar opposites, become firm friends. After being honest for the first time in his life, admitting to owing thousands of pounds in gambling debts, Robert offers John the opportunity to accompany him on his quest through the deserts of Egypt. John accepts and the pair finds themselves on an adventure of discovery and personal redemption.
John and Robert make an unlikely but excellent team. Robert’s knowledge of the Bible and ancient history is vital, however, John’s propensity for falsehoods and cunningness gets them out of a few scrapes and tricky situations. Nonetheless, it is difficult for John to give up his old ways and his insular behaviour threatens to get them in more trouble.
Fortunately, Robert’s humility begins to influence the young scoundrel, as does his penchant for historical artefacts. As the story progresses, John begins to leave his past behind and becomes interested in Robert’s work, learning new things about Egyptian culture and the origins of the Bible. However, when a new gospel comes to light that threatens the whole of Christianity, Robert does not know what to do; and only John can give him counsel.
John Campbell-John is a character that the author introduced in a previous book. However, the timelines are not sequential, therefore Gospels is a stand-alone novel. The time frame for this book needed to be set in 1835 to correspond with historical truths. Although Robert’s discovery of a Gospel of Thaddeus Jude is an invention of the author, the quest itself is based on the journeys of three 19th-century Bible hunters. Stephen Taylor has conducted an enormous amount of research, including the biographies of Robert Curzon, Constantin von Tischendorf and Émile Amélineau who, on separate occasions, sought the same knowledge as the fictional Robert Babcock.
Despite being titled Gospels, the novel, for the most part, focuses on John Campbell-John and his wicked ways. Through a first-person narrative, John explains his past, his betrayal of a friend, and his addiction to gambling. Initially, he has no qualms about his behaviour and acts only for himself and his selfish greed. Whilst Robert goes in search of knowledge, John goes on a journey of redemption, coming to terms with his previous wrongdoings. However, acknowledging these faults is not enough, he needs to turn away from these roguish ways.
It is disappointing that the narrative does not focus more on the gospels, both real and imagined. There was enormous scope for an in-depth look at the life of Jesus and the inconsistencies in the Bible. The fictitious Gospel of Thaddeus Jude evokes a similar reaction in Robert as the Non-Canonical Gospel of Thomas found in the 19th-century had on many devout Christians. There was so much potential with this direction of thought, however, the author passes over it in preference to the life of John Campbell-John.
Slow to begin but increasingly interesting as it progresses, Gospels is a book of many themes. History, both 19th-century and ancient; religion, although not a Christian story; and achievement and absolution combine together to produce a unique tale that takes the reader from the back alleys of London to the River Nile and the deserts of Sinai. A subtle clue in the prologue keeps readers alert as they await the conclusion of the adventure – an ending that ambiguously reveals whether John moves on from the follies of his past.
Is the Bible really gospel truth? This is the question the honourable, academic Robert Babcock aims to find out on his quest to find the earliest copies of the gospels in order to prove the reliability of the story of Jesus as recounted in the King James Bible. However, this is not the key focus of Stephen Taylor’s fictional novel, Gospels. The main character is the perfidious John Campbell-John, a rogue, imposter and swindler who flees 19th-century England in an attempt to escape from his debts.
John meets the magnanimous Robert in Venice and, despite being polar opposites, become firm friends. After being honest for the first time in his life, admitting to owing thousands of pounds in gambling debts, Robert offers John the opportunity to accompany him on his quest through the deserts of Egypt. John accepts and the pair finds themselves on an adventure of discovery and personal redemption.
John and Robert make an unlikely but excellent team. Robert’s knowledge of the Bible and ancient history is vital, however, John’s propensity for falsehoods and cunningness gets them out of a few scrapes and tricky situations. Nonetheless, it is difficult for John to give up his old ways and his insular behaviour threatens to get them in more trouble.
Fortunately, Robert’s humility begins to influence the young scoundrel, as does his penchant for historical artefacts. As the story progresses, John begins to leave his past behind and becomes interested in Robert’s work, learning new things about Egyptian culture and the origins of the Bible. However, when a new gospel comes to light that threatens the whole of Christianity, Robert does not know what to do; and only John can give him counsel.
John Campbell-John is a character that the author introduced in a previous book. However, the timelines are not sequential, therefore Gospels is a stand-alone novel. The time frame for this book needed to be set in 1835 to correspond with historical truths. Although Robert’s discovery of a Gospel of Thaddeus Jude is an invention of the author, the quest itself is based on the journeys of three 19th-century Bible hunters. Stephen Taylor has conducted an enormous amount of research, including the biographies of Robert Curzon, Constantin von Tischendorf and Émile Amélineau who, on separate occasions, sought the same knowledge as the fictional Robert Babcock.
Despite being titled Gospels, the novel, for the most part, focuses on John Campbell-John and his wicked ways. Through a first-person narrative, John explains his past, his betrayal of a friend, and his addiction to gambling. Initially, he has no qualms about his behaviour and acts only for himself and his selfish greed. Whilst Robert goes in search of knowledge, John goes on a journey of redemption, coming to terms with his previous wrongdoings. However, acknowledging these faults is not enough, he needs to turn away from these roguish ways.
It is disappointing that the narrative does not focus more on the gospels, both real and imagined. There was enormous scope for an in-depth look at the life of Jesus and the inconsistencies in the Bible. The fictitious Gospel of Thaddeus Jude evokes a similar reaction in Robert as the Non-Canonical Gospel of Thomas found in the 19th-century had on many devout Christians. There was so much potential with this direction of thought, however, the author passes over it in preference to the life of John Campbell-John.
Slow to begin but increasingly interesting as it progresses, Gospels is a book of many themes. History, both 19th-century and ancient; religion, although not a Christian story; and achievement and absolution combine together to produce a unique tale that takes the reader from the back alleys of London to the River Nile and the deserts of Sinai. A subtle clue in the prologue keeps readers alert as they await the conclusion of the adventure – an ending that ambiguously reveals whether John moves on from the follies of his past.
May 25, 2018
Can we trust the Bible we read today? Maybe it is not the full truth. Gospels is a well-written adventure about a likeable rogue, John Campbell-John, although that isn’t his real name. The follow up to Stephen Taylor’s first novel, No Quarter Asked, No Quarter Given, it stands alone as an exciting, enjoyable book. It has been really well researched and you feel as if you are there with John as he travels to monasteries across Egypt in search of Coptic Gospels, with his friend, Robert Babcock, whose identity he later assumes. I look forward to reading more of Taylor’s books.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews