''Sarah and After: the matriarchs'' is a 1975 collection of short stories aimed at older juvenile readers, written by

Lynne Reid Banks Lynne Reid Banks (born 31 July 1929) is a British author of books for children and adults. She has written forty-five books, including the best-selling children's novel ''The Indian in the Cupboard'', which has sold over 10 million copies and ...

. Each of the stories in the collection focus on a different woman in the Bible, beginning with

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

, wife to

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

and mother to

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

Synopsis

The collection is made up of several stories, each of which center upon a different woman in the Bible. These women include Sarah,

Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

Leah Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...

and

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

, and

Dinah In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...

. The stories are written from each woman's perspective with the exception of Rachel, who is covered through Leah's story. Others covered via other stories include

Hagar Hagar, of uncertain origin; ar, هَاجَر, Hājar; grc, Ἁγάρ, Hagár; la, Agar is a biblical woman. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to he ...

Development

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph Banks noted that she gave the women more modern sensibilities as she wanted to make it easier for her intended readers, teenage girls, to identify with and understand what it was like to be a woman in biblical times. She also wanted to show "how God-driven men, preoccupied with their vocation, can exploit their women".

Themes

Themes and topics in the stories of Sarah and After center upon women's lives and identities, as well as themes of anti-patriarchy. The men and women in the stories are emphasized as "people of passion and fallibility", which

Zena Sutherland Zena Sutherland (1915 – June 12, 2002) was an American reviewer of children's literature. She is best known for her contributions to the ''Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books'' and as the author of the library science textbook ''Childr ...

wrote was shown through the motivations and justifications the characters give to themselves.

Publication

''Sarah and After: the matriarchs'' was first published in the United Kingdom in 1975 through

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

in hardback. That same year the collection was also published in hardback in the United States via Doubleday, under the title ''Sarah and After: five women who founded a nation''. A paperback version was released in the United Kingdom during 1981, through

Lion Publishing Lion Hudson is UK's largest publisher of children's Christian books. It is based in Oxford, UK. It had its origins as Lion Publishing (founded in 1971) and Hudson International (founded in 1977) which merged to become Lion Hudson PLC in 2003. ...

Reception

Critical reception for the collection was favorable, with journalists for ''

The Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...

'' and '' Herald Express'' praising Banks for her portrayal of the Biblical women. Sutherland, in a review for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', wrote that "the fiction adheres rather closely; what Banks adds can deepen the reader's understanding of the women as people."

Leon Garfield Leon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted '' Shakespeare: The Animated Tal ...

for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' was more critical, praising Banks for her "motives in bringing back the Bible into the world's imagination" while also criticizing the collection as not treating the characters and subject with enough respect and reverence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarah and After The Bodley Head books British short story collections 1975 children's books Bible in popular culture Jacob