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Genesius
Most successful fiction about early Christianity―such as Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace (1880), Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienklewicz (1897), The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas (1942) and The Silver Chalice by Thomas Costain (1953)―is set in or very close to the lifetime of Jesus.
Genesius takes place at the time of the last great Roman persecution of Christians. It is the first-person account of a little known saint anxious to tell his own story. "I am myth, I am man, I am martyr," he begins. "I am all of these, or I am none." Here Saint Genesius of Rome, also known as the Actor, is given a backstory to explain his martyrdom, a personality-- arrogant, funny, lusty, conniving―and a life, far too short but oh so very memorable. Genesius: An imaginative tale, a glimpse of Christian history, a benediction.
Genesius takes place at the time of the last great Roman persecution of Christians. It is the first-person account of a little known saint anxious to tell his own story. "I am myth, I am man, I am martyr," he begins. "I am all of these, or I am none." Here Saint Genesius of Rome, also known as the Actor, is given a backstory to explain his martyrdom, a personality-- arrogant, funny, lusty, conniving―and a life, far too short but oh so very memorable. Genesius: An imaginative tale, a glimpse of Christian history, a benediction.
116 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 3, 2025
I stumbled upon this volume while looking for a prayer card of Saint Genesius. I showed it to my son, who loved the theatre and acting. So we decided to give it a try. The description was intriguing and it states:
“Most successful fiction about early Christianity—such as Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace (1880), Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienklewicz (1897), The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas (1942) and The Silver Chalice by Thomas Costain (1953)—is set in or very close to the lifetime of Jesus.
Genesius takes place at the time of the last great Roman persecution of Christians. It is the first-person account of a little known saint anxious to tell his own story. "I am myth, I am man, I am martyr," he begins. "I am all of these, or I am none." Here Saint Genesius of Rome, also known as the Actor, is given a backstory to explain his martyrdom, a personality-- arrogant, funny, lusty, conniving—and a life, far too short but oh so very memorable. Genesius: An imaginative tale, a glimpse of Christian history, a benediction.”
There are 29 short chapters in this volume, and the chapters do not have titles. The story takes place between primarily in Rome around 302 Anno Domini. In many ways it reminds me of Father Michael Giesler’s Christian Historical Fiction Trilogy or Tarlor R. Marshall’s A Sword and Serpent Series, particularly the volume on Nikolaos. But this one takes on telling the story of Genesius who transforms from an actor and veritable rogue to a Saint.
It is historical fiction written large. The author did a lot of research and every chapter his footnotes and historical notes. Overall I was really impressed with the work. The one concern I had is that before his conversion, Genesius, frequents prostitutes and the descriptions though not explicit was more than I think was needed. If those few passages were different I could recommend this for middle grade readers, and tweens. Now I would only recommend it for teens, young adults and adults.
This is a good historical fiction biography, I really enjoyed the story.
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
“Most successful fiction about early Christianity—such as Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace (1880), Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienklewicz (1897), The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas (1942) and The Silver Chalice by Thomas Costain (1953)—is set in or very close to the lifetime of Jesus.
Genesius takes place at the time of the last great Roman persecution of Christians. It is the first-person account of a little known saint anxious to tell his own story. "I am myth, I am man, I am martyr," he begins. "I am all of these, or I am none." Here Saint Genesius of Rome, also known as the Actor, is given a backstory to explain his martyrdom, a personality-- arrogant, funny, lusty, conniving—and a life, far too short but oh so very memorable. Genesius: An imaginative tale, a glimpse of Christian history, a benediction.”
There are 29 short chapters in this volume, and the chapters do not have titles. The story takes place between primarily in Rome around 302 Anno Domini. In many ways it reminds me of Father Michael Giesler’s Christian Historical Fiction Trilogy or Tarlor R. Marshall’s A Sword and Serpent Series, particularly the volume on Nikolaos. But this one takes on telling the story of Genesius who transforms from an actor and veritable rogue to a Saint.
It is historical fiction written large. The author did a lot of research and every chapter his footnotes and historical notes. Overall I was really impressed with the work. The one concern I had is that before his conversion, Genesius, frequents prostitutes and the descriptions though not explicit was more than I think was needed. If those few passages were different I could recommend this for middle grade readers, and tweens. Now I would only recommend it for teens, young adults and adults.
This is a good historical fiction biography, I really enjoyed the story.
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
December 5, 2021
Well written story told in first person. Inspirational.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews