Welcome to the 2013 Summer Scavenger Hunt! This hunt has 32 stops and runs
5/17-5/19/13. You can make the loop, reading unique content from 31 different
authors, and if you complete the loop, and fill out the Rafflecopter form at
Stop #32, you'll be in the running for an iPad Mini (loaded with all our books),
or one of two runner-up prizes---all 31 of our new releases in paperback. In
addition, some authors are offering additional prizes, so be sure to read each
post thoroughly to be in the running for all that are available. The contest is
open internationally.
If you've JUST discovered the hunt, I recommend you begin at the beginning,
Stop #1, found at
LisaBergren.com. But you
can also begin here, and keep on rolling. Just be aware that you have to have
the COMPLETED phrase in order, which you construct gathering the clue at each
stop, within 24 hours of email notification from Lisa Bergren that you won. If
Lisa doesn't hear back from you with the correct phrase within the time limit,
she will move on to the next winner Rafflecopter draws. Ready? Here we
go...
LESLIE GOULD
I am so pleased to host my friend and gifted author, Leslie Gould to you. If you haven't yet sampled
Leslie's wonderful Christian fiction, you are in for a treat. She is the award-winning author of sixteen novels, including the #1 bestseller and Christy Award winner The Amish Midwife, co-written with Mindy Starns Clark. Her latest release is Adoring Addie, inspired by Romeo and Juliet.
Today, Leslie is going to share with you the things the Amish have in common with Shakespeare!
Three Things the Amish and Shakespeare Have in Common
By Leslie Gould
1.
The Reformation
In 1525 in Zurich, Switzerland the
first reformed Protestant congregation of the Reformation was formed. Adult
believers baptized each other (as opposed to infant baptism) for the first time
in 1000 years. The movement prospered and was referred to as the Anabaptists,
branching off into the Mennonites and eventually the Amish. Both groups were greatly
persecuted, resulting in over 5,000 martyrs.
(Hendrik Eemkensan was burned at
the stake in Belgium during the early 1560s for his faith.)
During the early
1530s, inspired by the Reformation but motivated by political and personal
reasons, Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church. In 1536 he was confirmed as
the Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Besides being a product of the Renaissance, William Shakespeare (born in 1564) was
also influenced by the Reformation.
2. The Bible
Studying
scriptures is what led Martin Luther to start the Reformation in 1517 and then to the Anabaptist group in
Switzerland rejecting infant baptism for believer baptism. The Amish also aimed
to follow Christ’s teachings as revealed through the Bible.
Shakespeare
also read the Bible, as is evident by at least 1,200 references to scripture in
his plays. The biblical book with the most references is Psalms. Others include
Genesis, Matthew, and Job. It is assumed that up to 1598 Shakespeare used the
Bishops' Bible, and after that the Geneva Bible.
3.
Patriarchal societies
All of Shakespeare’s plays are set in
patriarchal societies. Some argue that he was a misogynist while others claim
he was a “feminist in sympathy.” Regardless, most of his female characters are
seen as property who are expected to sacrificially obey the patriarchs in their
lives.
The Amish are also a patriarchal society,
based on Ephesians 5:23, For the husband
is the head of the wife… However, the Amish families I’ve spent time with want
what is best for all of their children and work diligently at training them,
both spiritually and occupationally.
The first book in The Courtships of
Lancaster County series, Courting Cate,
was inspired by The Taming of the Shrew,
while Adoring Addie was inspired by Romeo and Juliet.
What is your favorite Shakespeare play? Do
you think it could be retold as an Amish novel?
Leslie Gould's new release, Adoring Addie, is the second novel in The Courtships of Lancaster County series, inspired by Shakespearean plays. Shakespeare and the Amish?! Jah, the Bard and the Plain folk have more in common than you might think.
It is available at bookstores or online at
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Adoring-Addie-Courtships-Lancaster-County/dp/0764210327), Barnes & Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/adoring-addie-leslie-gould/1113143868?ean=9780764210327, Christian
Book Distributors
http://www.christianbook.com/adoring-addie-courtships-of-lancaster-county/leslie-gould/9780764210327/pd/21032X and elsewhere.
AND NOW, YOUR NEXT STEPS:
Write down this clue: and entertain
BONUS
PRIZE!
I'll be giving away 5 copies of my latest Amish Romantic Suspense novel. Just leave a comment below with your e-mail address for a chance to win a copy of HOME BY DARK by Marta Perry.
Posts
What if
you were an adult when you discovered that you had not one, but two younger
sisters you didn’t remember? That’s the unimaginable truth that confronts Amish
wife and mother Lydia Beachy in my new book out on June 4th from Berkley
Books: Lydia’s Hope, The Lost
Sisters of Pleasant Valley, Book One. With no memory of her birth parents or the
tragic accident that took their lives and her memories, she has loved the aunt
and uncle who adopted her as if they were her parents. Now, it seems, they’ve
hidden a secret from her all her life. She has two younger sisters: Susanna, who
was adopted by an Amish couple in another community, and Chloe, who was raised
by their wealthy grandmother among the Englisch.
