Janette Oke has dreamed for years of retelling a story in a biblical time frame from a female protagonist's perspective, and Davis Bunn is elated to be working with her again on this sweeping saga of the dramatic events surrounding the birth of Christianity...and the very personal story of Leah, a young Jewess of mixed heritage trapped in a vortex of competing political agendas and private trauma.Caught up in the maelstrom following the death of an obscure rabbi in the Roman backwater of first-century Palestine, Leah finds herself also engulfed in her own turmoil--facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a Roman soldier, Alban, who seems to care for nothing but his own ambitions. Head of the garrison near Galilee, he has been assigned by Palestine's governor to ferret out the truth behind rumors of a political execution gone awry. Leah's mistress, the governor's wife, secretly commissions Leah also to discover what really has become of this man whose death--and missing body--is causing such furor.This epic drama is threaded with the tale of an unlikely romance and framed with dangers and betrayals from unexpected sources. At its core, The Centurion's Wife unfolds the testing of loyalties--between two young people whose inner searchings they cannot express, between their irreconcilable heritages, and ultimately between their humanity and the Divine they yearn to encounter.
(born 18 February 1935) is a Canadian author and pioneer of inspirational fiction. Her books are often set in a pioneer time period and centered around female protagonists. She is a committed Evangelical Christian.
Janette Steeves was born in the Depression years in Champion, Alberta, to a Canadian prairie farmer and his wife, Fred and Amy Steeves.
She graduated from Mountain View Bible College in Didsbury, Alberta. Janette met her husband Edward Oke (pronounced "oak") while they both attended college. They were married in 1957 and have pastored churches in Indiana, and Calgary and Edmonton, Canada. He later became the president of the college. Janette and Edward had 4 children, including a set of twins. Her daughter, Laurel Oke Logan, has co-written books with Janette.
Her first novel, titled Love Comes Softly, was published by Bethany House in 1979. This book was followed by more than 75 others.
She received the 1992 President's Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association for her significant contribution to Christian fiction, the 1999 CBA Life Impact Award and has been awarded the Gold Medallion Award for fiction.
