Lineage of Grace Books In Order

Publication Order of Lineage of Grace Books

Lineage of Grace is a series of five novels from Bestselling author Francine Rivers; the novels chronicle the lives of five women, namely: Bathsheba, Tamar, Ruth, Mary and Rahab. Confronted by numerous challenges along the way, Francine Rivers tells of their victory of these obstacles to find their calling.

The Story

Lineage of Grace, within five books, attempts to tell the stories of those most important women in the lineage of Christ. The series revives old historical tales and injects new life into them, adding new details to better flesh out the protagonists.

Francine’s Christian influences litter her popular series, allowing stories that were little more than chapters in the Bible to come to life in a far more comprehensive manner. Each novella purposes to emphasize, and sometimes even amplify, the struggles encountered by each of the heroines in Francine’s stories, showing in great detail the struggle they faced and the final decisions they made to serve God despite the troubles manifesting in their lives.

From Tamar to Ruth and Mary, there is a grand plan that seems to manifest within each woman’s story and the crucial role they end up playing as pieces within the Lineage of Jesus.

The Author

Francine Rivers is an American author born in 1947; she has made a career out of writing fiction, many times inspirational romance stories littered with Christian themes. Prior to her conversation in 1986, Francine showed a preference for historical romance.

Francine is best known for ‘Redeeming Love’, one of her most popular novels. Her 1998 novel ‘The Last Sin Eater’ was adapted into a feature film in 2007.

The daughter of a nurse and a cop, Francine’s passion for writing first manifested when she was a child, Francine determining that she would become a published author at a very early age. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Journalism (University of Nevada), Francine spent some time pursuing a career as a journalist, specializing in human stories.

Despite her interest in writing, Francine didn’t pursue this dream until 1976 when her first book was published, a victory that only came after her mother-in-law lent her a couple of romance novels that inspired her to attempt to produce stories of a similar fashion.

After becoming Born-Again in 1986, Francine’s career seemed to stall as she struggled to craft new plots for new books; after dedicating a considerable amount of time studying the Bible, Francine decided that she would take a Christian approach to her work, eventually writing ‘Redeeming love’ in 1991. Every book Francine has written since has continued to manifest her Christian faith, Francine working to create stories in realistic settings that display the difficulties involved with trying to walk a path of faith.

At some point in time, Francine took the effort to purchase the publication rights to the novels she wrote before her conversion with the aim of preventing them from ever being re-released, a goal she could only achieve partway.

Francine Rivers can boast of awards such as the Christy Award, Holt Medallion and ECPA Gold Medallion. She has also won Accolades for her work in the romance genre. She is married to Rick Rivers. The couple lives in North California, which is where so many of her novels are set.

Unveiled: Tamar

In ‘Unveiled: Tamar’, Francine Rivers tells the Story of Tamar, a women within Jesus’ Lineage; crucial to Tamar’s story is the evidence of God’s grace, not only in her life but that of her Father in Law.

Tamar is the first novel in the Lineage of Grace series; it is also the first novel many people that have never read novelizations about the Bible tend to encounter. The story is beautiful. More importantly, it is quite uplifting, telling the tale of Tamar, a woman of great importance, and not only because of her marriage to Abraham’s great grandson. The novel attempts to provide a behind the scenes look at the important role Tamar played in Biblical history, the manner in which she was used to bring about God’s will in times of difficulty.

Readers have commended the novella for its humanizing aspects, providing a glimpse into the mind of a woman whose perspective readers never had the chance to visit in the bible and whose feelings on the situations that befell her where never truly explored.

As far as the experience goes, it is a pretty quick read, the plot progressing at a pace that is bound to keep you glued to the pages, especially as Tamar’s trials begin and she is forced to confront the depths of her faith.

Unashamed: Rahab

Rahab is a woman introduced in the book of Joshua. Francine Rivers chronicles her story in a fictional retelling designed to provide a fresh perspective about God’s work in the lives of the most unlikely individuals.

The second book in the Lineage of Grace series, ‘Unashamed: Rahab’ is a surprisingly superior novel to its predecessor, ‘Unveiled: Tamar’. Following Rahab, a prostitute that must make a difficult decision, risking all to aid the plans of foreign spies within her city, the novella continues a trend Francine Rivers began in her first book. It outlines the mysteries ways in which God can operate through his Holy Spirit, creating faith in places one would never expect.

Rahab is a very compelling character. She is more than just a prostitute. She has a great desire to start her life over and a chance meeting with strangers offers her the opportunity to enter a new spiritual family. Francine does not gloss over Rahab’s past. In fact little effort is made to hide the things she has done. The author allows Rahab to take responsibility, making few excuses for her and going so far as to ensure that the readers understand that Rahab knows everything she did was of her own free will.

It is in understanding her sinful past that the changes that occur later on gain meaning, her regret and the desire for a brighter future coming into full focus. The struggles with her family manifest as result of her determination to see them saved, physically and spiritually, this providing an interesting contrast between Rahab’s faith and the deception under which the idol worshipping men and women around her had fallen.