Product Description

Bestselling author Tommy Tenney expands the extraordinary story of Esther like no novelist has done before. Both a thriller and a Jewish woman's memoir, Hadassah takes readers to ancient Persia (now known as Iraq), into the inner sanctum of the palace and back out into the war zones of battle and political intrigue. This gripping drama of a simple peasant girl chosen over many more qualified candidates to become Esther, Queen of Persia, captures the imagination and fires the emotions of men and women alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1530582 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-15
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio Cassette

From Publishers Weekly
Despite a few glitches, there is much to like about this coauthored novel from Tenney, best known for his nonfiction book The God Chasers, and Olsen, a writer whose work includes screenplays. Esther, queen of Persia, who inspired the eponymous book of the Bible, is a fascinating character whose story lends itself well to a fictional retelling. The novel opens as a contemporary woman named Hadassah receives a letter penned by Esther (also called "Hadassah" and "Star" in the novel) and passed down through her family for generations. The reading of the letter transports the reader back to the Persian Empire (a similar device is used in Bodie and Brock Thoene's Zion Legacy series). Several time periods and points of view make for a slow start, but the pacing picks up when Esther becomes the focus. The dialogue is stiff in places, and some readers will find the use of "G-d" rather than "God" out of reverence rather tiresome. However, from their imaginative fleshing out of Esther's unusual girlhood and preparation for her tryst with the king to the uttering of her famous words, "If I perish, I perish," the authors reinvigorate an age-old story. The sexual tension and violence necessary to the tale are rendered inoffensive for the evangelical Christian market, and a few surprise twists will catch readers familiar with the story off-balance. CBA readers should enjoy this account of one of the Bible's most courageous heroines.
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From AudioFile
Jews celebrate the story of sweet Esther and evil Haman every Purim. Author Tenney spins the story colorfully and creatively, with Aimee Lilly breathlessly delivering the prose. HADASSAH does a nice job of delving into the captive become queen whose Jewish roots must remain hidden until they are revealed to an astonished King Xerxes and his subjects at a critical moment. There is no lack of pathos and pride in the recording, and the story moves along steadily to a clever denouement. A religious audiobook without proselytizing is a bit of a relief. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author
Tommy Tenney is the bestselling author of many books and his first, The God Chasers, continues to be a bestseller. He spent 10 years as a pastor and more recently over 20 years in itinerant ministry. He has preached in more than 40 countries around the world. He and his wife, Jeannie, have three daughters and reside in Louisiana.  ---------

Mark Andrew Olsen is a talented writer whose screenplays and other writing have provided a wealth of experience from which to collaborate with Tenney on this novel. He and his family make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Excellent!
I really enjoyed "Hadassah", already knowing the Biblical story of Esther, it was nice to see a fictonal background story. Although we don't really know what it was really like, "Hadassah" is a lovley story with vivid characters and plenty of emotion. You can almost feel the characters hurt and desperation as well as their joy and passion. I would definatley recommend it!

A Real Life Fairy Tale
In this era of fantasy and make believe it is sometimes easy to forget how engrossing and fantastic history can be. Tommy Tenney writes a compelling tale of finding God's will in the most dire of circumstances. In this story Esther discovers that God can work even when it seems that things are happening that go against everything she's been taught. Her struggles with doing the right thing, and finding God's presence during the most difficult times of her life are issues to which everyone can relate. I really enjoyed the historical context that is woven into the story. I look forward to reading any new fiction Mr. Tenney writes.

Tenney has given readers a source of wonder and conversation
The Biblical tale of Esther, based on its Hebrew version (known as Megillah Esther, or The Volume of Esther), goes something like this: King Ahasuerus (now known as Xerxes) of Persia called for his wife, Queen Vashti, to appear at a banquet. When she refused (some theologians believe he meant to parade her naked before his guests), he banished her from the throne and decided to choose a new queen. While conducting a sort of beauty pageant of candidates, Ahasuerus was captivated by Esther, young woman whose Jewish identity was carefully concealed. He crowned his chosen new queen with diamonds.

But while Esther had hidden her identity, she had not forgotten it. When the uncle who raised her, Mordecai, learned of a plot to kill the king, she was able to save her husband's life and to bring her uncle to his attention. Later still, when the king's villainous minister Haman ordered destruction of all the Jews in the kingdom on the 13th day of the month of Adar by lots, or "purim," Mordecai urged his niece to plead with the king to save her people. Going before the king without a summons could mean death, so Esther's courage in doing so was great. She persuaded the king, using all her feminine wiles, to grant her any wish, and he did --- the Jews of Persia were saved and destroyed their enemies. The 14th and 15th days of Adar were then set aside as a feast, to be known forever after as "Purim."

Because of Esther's acceptance of her fate (hiding her faith and going willingly to the King's bed without benefit of marriage), her story has been denounced over the centuries by different Jewish and Christian commentators and clergy. Add to these criticisms the fact that the ten-chapter Book of Esther does not once mention God's name, and you have a tale that is not easy to tell as a Christian novel of redemption!

Tenney gets around some of the story's difficulties (perhaps why he enlisted fiction writer Mark Andrew Olsen as a "contributor?") by 1) limiting the "action" during Esther's first night with Xerxes to hours of deep conversation and 2) using the Orthodox Jewish trope of referring to God as "G-d" or "YHWH" so that readers will begin to believe that the absence of His name in The Book of Esther was pious and not premeditated.

Still, it's shocking at first to read Esther's calm, calculating reasons for allowing herself to be prepped for King Xerxes, and even more shocking to read of her growing desire for what would have been a lawless coupling: "I found that soon I began to desire the King in a wide variety of ways: to crave his presence, his words, his trust --- as well as that moment of our physical union." However, Tenney tries very hard to connect Esther's desire for the King with her growing desire for The King, or "G-d." He also, by framing her story with that of one of her descendants, a young contemporary Jewish bride-to-be, tries to connect Esther's elaborate knowledge and use of female adornments and beauty and sensitivity with the Judeo-Christian ideal of marriage.

Tenney's success in making these connections has its problems, in literary terms: the framing device is simply not strong enough or long enough for his purposes. His success in making these connections may have other problems, as well. But he does succeed in bringing Esther and her world vividly to life (at times HADASSAH: One Night with the King is reminiscent of Anita Diamant's THE RED TENT), and this can be connected to an important lesson that many theologians have made about The Book of Esther.

For Esther and other characters in the novel (including Mordecai and a young Jewish boy made into a eunuch), God's presence can seem farthest away when it is really closest. Jews celebrate the fact that Esther followed her path and used what she had to save her people. We may never know whether or not Esther followed that path because she believed God was guiding her, or not. Nevertheless, her story can instruct modern believers in having courage and struggling on despite the course of events. By re-imagining this rich, historic tale, Tenney has given readers a gift similar to that Esther gave Xerxes: a source of wonder and conversation.

--- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick