Classic Christian Fiction

Short Stories

 

 

A Celestial Omnibus: Short Fiction on Faith , edited by J.P. Maney and Tom Hazuka (1997)

A collection of twenty-five stories exploring the nature of religious faith includes works by Sandra Cisneros, Flannery O'Connor, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Philip Roth, Louise Erdrich, and Alice Walker.

God: Stories , edited by C. Michael Curtis (1998)

Here are thirty dazzling short stories by eminent writers of widely varying persuasions dealing with the question of faith -- both its presence and its absence. The stories range from the comic to the passionate, from the skeptical to the mystical. Some make their way into the perplexities of belief, some explore the hazy perimeter of unconditional love and forgiveness, and others examine the paradoxes of discipleship. All engage issues of deep and universal appeal.

This World is Not Conclusion: Faith in Nineteenth-Century New England Fiction , edited by Lisa MacFarlane, editor (1998)

The enduring linkage of New England to Puritanism has obscured awareness of other spiritual traditions present even during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Employing fiction as a window to the diverse faiths and cultural traditions of the nineteenth century, Lisa MacFarlane reveals the range and variety of spiritual expression. Canonical writers such as Hawthorne, Stowe, Alcott, and Twain are balanced by less familiar names who reveal the experience of African Americans, Native Americans, working men and women, urbanites, country folk, and diverse immigrant groups.

Novels

Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim's Progress (1684)

The pilgrim Christian undertakes the dangerous journey to the Celestial City, experiencing physical and spiritual obstacles along the way.

Caldwell, Taylor. Dear and Glorious Physician (1959)

A fictionalized life of Saint Luke.

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov (1879-80)

The plot concerns the trial of one of four brothers for the murder of his father. The book is written on two levels: on the surface it is the story of a patricide in which all of the murdered man's sons share varying degrees of complicity but, on a deeper level, it is a spiritual drama of the moral struggles between faith, doubt, reason, and free will.

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Idiot (1868)

Prince Myshkin, a good yet simple man, is out of place in the corrupt world created by Russia's ruling class.

Douglas, Lloyd C. The Robe (1942)

A Roman soldier, Marcellus, wins Christ's robe as a gambling prize. He then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's robe -- a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity and is set against the vividly limned background of ancient Rome. Here is a timeless story of adventure, faith, and romance, a tale of spiritual longing and ultimate redemption.

Girzone, Joseph F. Joshua and the City (1995)

A contemporary city faces turmoil and devastation until it is visited by the serene figure of Joshua, who presents an alternative, love-based approach to life while addressing such issues as poverty, racism, and AIDS.

Goldsmith, Oliver. The Vicar of Wakefield (1762)

A vicar and his charming, if vain, family fall victim to undeserved misfortune in this eighteenth-century classic.

Karon, Jan. At Home in Mitford (1994)

A heartwarming portrait of the mysteries and miracles of everyday life in a small town introduces the charming North Carolina town of Mitford and its colorful inhabitants, including Tim, a bachelor rector, who is falling in love with his neighbor.

Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-56)

Aslan, the noble lion, and the royal leaders of Narnia struggle against the magical forces of evil. A series of seven books that will also be found published separately. Series comprises: 1. The Magician's Nephew ; 2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ; 3. The Horse and His Boy ; 4. Prince Caspian ; 5. Voyage of the Dawn Treader ; 6. The Silver Chair ; 7. The Last Battle . The series contains Christian themes and borrows from Greek and Roman mythology as well as traditional English and Irish fairy tales.

Lewis, Sinclair. Elmer Gantry (1927)

A vulgar and licentious college football captain becomes a messenger of God as a suave evangelist preacher. Made into a fine film in 1961 with an Oscar-winning performance by Burt Lancaster.

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron. The Last Days of Pompeii (1834)

One of the most widely read books of all time, the novel describes the cataclysmic destruction of the city of Pompeii.

MacDonald, George. Lilith (1895) In: Visionary Novels.

First published in 1895 (inhabiting a universe with the early Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde -- not to mention Thomas Hardy), this is the story of the aptly named Mr. Vane, his magical house, and the journeys into another world into which it leads him. Meeting up with one mystery after another, including Adam and Eve themselves, he slowly but surely explores the mystery of the human fall from grace, and of our redemption.

MacDonald, George. Phantastes (1858) In: Visionary Novels .

Tells the story of its narrator's dreamlike adventures in fairyland, masterfully recounted to convey a sense of profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.

Marshall, Catherine. Julie (1984)

Adventure, romance, triumph, and tragedy blend in the story of Julie Wallace and her family during a period of strife between steel mill owners and immigrant laborers during the final years of the Depression, in a flood-prone town in western Pennsylvania.

Oke, Janette. The Bluebird and the Sparrow (1994)

Overshadowed by the vivacious and outgoing Glenna, dependable and serious Berta must come to terms with her relationship with her sister and her feelings of being plain and ordinary.

Price, Eugenia New Moon Rising (1969)

A novel set in the South of the 1830s depicts the torn loyalties of a planter's son who can no longer accept Black enslavement.

Sienkiewicz, Henryk. Quo Vadis (1896)

Historical novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in Polish under its Latin title in 1896. The title means "where are you going?" and alludes to a New Testament verse (John 13:36). The popular novel was widely translated. Set in ancient Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero, Quo Vadis tells the story of the love that develops between a young Christian woman and a Roman officer who, after meeting her fellow Christians, converts to her religion. Underlying their relationship is the contrast between the worldly opulence of the Roman aristocracy and the poverty, simplicity, and spiritual power of the Christians. The novel has as a subtext the persecution and political subjugation of Poland by Russia.

Stendhal. The Red and the Black (1831)

Handsome and ambitious, Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble peasant origins and make something of his life -- by adopting the code of hypocrisy by which his society operates. Julien ultimately commits a crime -- out of passion, principle, or insanity -- that will bring about his downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical picture of French Restoration society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed, and ennui. The complex, sympathetic portrayal of Julien, the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions, makes him Stendhal's most brilliant and human creation -- and one of the greatest characters in European literature.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings (1954-55)

A three-volume fantasy masterpiece, centering on a hobbit named Frodo Baggins who inherits a ring of power, which, in the hands of Sauron (the Lord of the Rings), would bring about the destruction of the world. Frodo Baggins, and a small group of companions must journey to destroy the ring, and save the world from evil. The trilogy titles are: 1. The Fellowship of the Ring 2. The Two Towers 3. The Return of the King. Made into an astounding, award-winning trilogy of films by the New Zealand director Peter Jackson from 2001 - 2003.

Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur (1880)

From a thrilling sea battle to its famous chariot race to the agony of the Crucifixion, this is the epic tale of a prince who became a slave and by a twist of fate and his own skill -- won a chance at freedom.

Williams, Charles. Descent Into Hell (1937)

Hell turns out to be nothing other than a refusal to see things as they really are. Arguably his finest novel, the "descent" in the title happens to an ordinary (if extraordinarily selfish) historian named Wentworth, whose daily choices to cheat on the truth slowly but surely lead him into a terrifying state of isolation and egotism.

Williams, Charles. War in Heaven (1930)

A search for the Holy Grail serves as an allegory for a metaphysical journey through the human mind.

4/10

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NOTE: Dates show the year of original publication. In most cases the Library's copies are later reprints.