Redeeming Love
Francine Rivers, 1991
Doubleday Religious
480 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781590525135
Summary
Best-selling author Francine Rivers skillfully retells the biblical love story of Gomer and Hosea in a tale set against the exciting backdrop of the California Gold Rush. The heroine, Angel, is a young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child.
Michael Hosea is a godly man sent into Angel's life to draw her into the Savior's redeeming love. This remarkable novel has sold over a million copies globally and has been a fixture on the CBA bestsellers list for nearly a decade. A six-part reading guide, suitable for individual use or group discussion, is included in this best-selling novel. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1947
• Where—N/A
• Education—B.A., University of Nevada
• Awards—see below
• Currently—northern California
Francine Sandra Rivers is an American author of fiction with Christian themes, including inspirational romance novels. Prior to becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Rivers wrote historical romance novels. She is best known for her inspirational novel Redeeming Love, while another novel, The Last Sin Eater has become a feature film.
Francine Rivers is the daughter of a police officer and a nurse. From the time she was a child, Rivers wanted to be a published author. She attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and journalism. After her graduation she spent time as a newspaper reporter, writing obituaries and human interest stories.
Career
After her mother-in-law lent her several romance novels, Rivers decided that she would try to write in that genre. Her first manuscript was sold and became published in 1976. For the next several years she wrote historical romance novels.
In 1986, Rivers became a born-again Christian, and for three years she had difficulty finding plots for new novels. She spent her time instead studying the Bible, and decided to adapt her writing to focus on more Christian themes. Her first novel in the new vein, Redeeming Love, was released in 1991. Rivers considers it to be her statement of faith. Redeeming Love updates the Old Testament book of Hosea to the American West of the 1850s and tells the story of a prostitute named Angel, who is eventually reformed and converted to Christianity by the stoic patience and love of a frontier farmer named Michael Hosea.
Rivers's subsequent novels have all been in the inspirational fiction genre, as Rivers wants to "illustrate Christ and the Christian walk, to address difficult problems and write realistic stories." In a letter on her webpage Francine Rivers refers to the books written before her conversion to Christianity as her "B.C." (before Christ) bibliography. She has purchased the publication rights to her earlier romance novels so that she can prevent them from being released again, but some titles have been rereleased and others circulate in used bookstores.
Her inspirational series, The Mark of the Lion, sold over half a million copies. In 2007, her novel The Last Sin Eater was made into a feature film , directed by Michael Landon Jr. and distributed by Fox Faith.
Francine Rivers is married to Rick Rivers and they live together in northern California (where the action in many of her contemporary novels is set). They have three children: Trevor, Shannon, and Travis; and five grandchildren.
Awards
Rivers has been honored with many awards, including the Christy Award, the ECPA Gold Medallion, and the Holt Medallion. Rivers is also a member of the Romance Writers of America's Hall of Fame. She has won four RWA RITA Awards, the highest award given in romantic fiction. Her first RITA was for Best Historical Romance in 1986 for Not So Wild a Dream. Her subsequent ones, in 1995, 1996, and 1997, have been for Best Inspirational Romance. (From Wikipedia
Book Reviews
Rivers has rewritten a secular historical romance of the same name for the Christian market, and it is a splendid piece of work exploring both physical love and a love of God. Angel, a young, hardened prostitute sold into "the life" as a child, has no interest in God or religion. Then she meets Michael Hosea, a devout Christian who tells her it is his mission to save her. After being badly beaten, Angel decides to take Michael up on his offer of marriage. Eventually, she learns not only to love Michael but to love God as well. There is not one false note in this wonderful novel. The publisher's foreword rates the book "PG" for its adult themes and subplots of rape and incest. However, these are handled with great sensitivity and are very much a part of the story's development. Very highly recommended for most libraries.
Library Journal
Discussion Questions
1. How was Sarah/Angel rejected and betrayed? What were her earliest experiences with God and/or the church?
2. What experience did Michael have with rejection or betrayal? Contrast Michael’s and Angel’s examples in coping with life’s circumstances.
3. Who else in the story suffered from rejection or betrayal, and how did they cope?
4. Which character do you identify with the most and why?
5. Describe a time when you were rejected or betrayed. To whom did you turn and why?
6. Which scene do you feel best shows how Angel was resigned to relying on no one but herself? What events caused her to do so? Why do you think she never cried out to God?
7. Contrast Michael with Angel in regard to authority.
8. Describe Miriam’s relationship with God. Why were her attitudes and beliefs so different from Angel’s?
9. On whom do you rely and why?
10. Who helped Michael escape his past? In what ways was he rescued?
11. Angel repeatedly tried to escape her circumstances. Describe the various plans.
12. Contrast Hosea, the slave who helped Michael, with the slave dealer Duke.
13. Discuss Michael’s rescue of Angel from the hand of Magowan.
14. Why do you think Angel returned to her former ways?
15. From what or whom are you trying to escape and why?
16. What causes you to return to old habits?
17. Angel was bought and sold on numerous occasions. What was different about Michael’s redeeming her? Discuss the role of trust (or lack of trust) in Angel.
18. When Michael and Angel helped the Altman family, what did Angel learn about Michael? Herself? God?
19. Describe thechanges in actions and thinking that took place after Angel was rescued a second time by Michael. What do you think caused the changes?
20. What trust issues do you have? Who has God placed in your life as positive examples?
21. What caused Angel to leave yet again?
22. How is this different from before?
23. Why was it necessary for Paul to be the one to find Angel?
24. What did he learn about himself? How did this help him?
25. What did Angel learn through this experience?
26. What was Michael learning through this difficult time?
27. Is there someone who needs to be reconciled with you? Or, do you need to be the one who does the reconciling, like Paul did? Explain.
28. What steps had Angel taken to restore her spirit?
29. What were the lasting effects of Angel’s soul search?
30. What steps did Angel take to restore her marriage? How did Michael respond?
31. In what ways did God reward Sarah and Michael?
32. What have you learned about the love of a man for a woman?
33. What have you learned about the love of God for all mankind—including you?
(Questions issued by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers.)
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