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Lydia
- Author
- Paula Gooder
- Narrator
- Anna Cordell, Paula Gooder
- Publisher
- John Murray Press
- Publish Date
- 6 August 2026
- Run Time
- 10 hours 46 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
The New Testament tells us very little about Lydia, a seller of purple cloth who was living in Philippi when she met the apostle Paul on his second missionary journey. And yet she is considered the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe.
In her second work of fiction, Biblical scholar and popular author and speaker Paula Gooder tells Lydia's story - who she was, the life she lived and her first-century faith - and in doing so opens up Paul's letter to the Philippians, giving a sense of the cultural and historical pressures that shaped Paul's thinking, and the faith of the early church.
Written in the gripping style of Gerd Theissen's The Shadow of the Galilean, and similarly rigorously researched, this is a book for everyone and anyone who wants to engage more deeply and imaginatively with Paul's theology - from one of the UK's foremost New Testament scholars.
Critics Review
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[Lydia] is the perfect mix: a winsome story, rigorous and illuminating scholarship, with spiritual insight and depth. It had me thinking, crying, and rejoicing.
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Gooder has a rare gift for translating scholarship into page-turning storytelling ... This book positively crackles with hope, faith, and love.
The Church Times
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Engaging and enjoyable, Lydia will prove to be informative and inspiring for readers who love stories and appreciate biblical scholarship and historical insights.
The Banner
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Paula Gooder
- Narrator
- Anna Cordell, Paula Gooder
- Duration
- 10 hours 46 minutes
- Release Date
- 6 August 2026
- ISBN
- 9781399838061
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- John Murray Press
- Genre
- Christianity, Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts, Theology
Synopsis
Winner - CRT Christian Book of the Year, 2023The New Testament tells us very little about Lydia, a seller of purple cloth who was living in Philippi when she met the apostle Paul on his second missionary journey. And yet she is considered the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe. In her second work of fiction, Biblical scholar and popular author and speaker Paula Gooder tells Lydia's story - who she was, the life she lived and her first-century faith - and in doing so opens up Paul's letter to the Philippians, giving a sense of the cultural and historical pressures that shaped Paul's thinking, and the faith of the early church.Written in the gripping style of Gerd Theissen's The Shadow of the Galilean, and similarly rigorously researched, this is a book for everyone and anyone who wants to engage more deeply and imaginatively with Paul's theology - from one of the UK's foremost New Testament scholars.
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