Sisters Of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Found The Hidden Gospels (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
I got to this book after reading Dara Horn's book, "Guide for the Perplexed". In that novel, Horn discusses Solomon Schechter's discovery of the genizah in Fustat/Cairo. Horn notes that his discovery was started by receiving scraps of manuscripts that the twin sisters, Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlap Gibson (nee Smith), whose biographies are in this book, purchased in Cairo. I was curious about how much of what Horn put in her book was true to the history of the genizah, Schechter and the manuscript fever that was circulating through Western Europe. So I found this joint biography.I enjoyed reading it. Soskice has enough historical detail to provide a good introduction to the time and the sisters' lives, without overwhelming the casual reader with too much scholarship. And they were interesting ladies, separate from their intersection with Schechter. They traveled extensively in a time when widows stayed home and in black. They became scholars when Cambridge didn't grant degrees to women. At. All. They spoke and read many languages and acquired new ones as needed.Fascinating. This a great book, a fantastic example of how to take a subject which at first sight seems dry and uninspiring, and turn it in to a compelling biography. The heroes of the book, 19th century, Scottish twin sisters defy the narrow expectations of prosperous Victorian society by travelling, with no male escorts, to Egypt. This begins a series of adventures in which they pursue and discover ancient Syriac and Greek manuscripts of the Bible, becoming, almost coincidentally, world renowned scholars as they pursue their passion.This is a punchy, well researched book. The author not only deftly penetrates the austere mask behind which the two Presbyterian women were expected to dwell, she also gives us a fascinating insight into the academic rivalries and jealousies of late nineteenth century Cambridge. (One suspects they haven't changed much today). It did feel as if the book lost its way in the final chapters, perhaps trying to add too much of a postscript; but this is more than compensated for by the rest of the narrative. Well worth a read.
What do You think about Sisters Of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Found The Hidden Gospels (2009)?
Loved this book! Gave a copy to my sister Cheri to read...Victorian adventurers with a true gift!
—Hoymaganda
This is an upcoming bookclub selection. It's well-written, intriguing, and worthwhile.
—ranjansukumar
Very dry read. Lots of detail without too much thought of a plot.
—kit
Great history of the heyday of the search for manuscripts.
—Grace
