Ruth

As intricate as a Fabergé egg, as multi-layered as an onion, Ruth is the story of ordinary people working out how to live in God’s loving ways through agonising personal circumstances. It’s also an account of how the God of love works through faithful people to fulfil his purposes for them, for their nation, and indeed for all humankind. In this six-session guide, Mark Greene’s astute questions, mini-features, and contemporary stories will help you to appreciate the book’s drama, wonder afresh at the Lord’s grace, and find inspiration and encouragement for all of life, Monday to Sunday. The fourth in this seven-study series from LICC, developed to enable Christians to read, reflect on, and see the implications of the Bible for themselves and their daily contexts – their frontlines.

As intricate as a Fabergé egg, as multi-layered as an onion, Ruth is the story of ordinary people working out how to live in God’s loving ways through agonising personal circumstances. It’s also an account of how the God of love works through faithful people to fulfil his purposes for them, for their nation, and indeed for all humankind. In this six-session guide, Mark Greene’s astute questions, mini-features, and contemporary stories will help you to appreciate the book’s drama, wonder afresh at the Lord’s grace, and find inspiration and encouragement for all of life, Monday to Sunday. The fourth in this seven-study series from LICC, developed to enable Christians to read, reflect on, and see the implications of the Bible for themselves and their daily contexts – their frontlines.

'I think I must be an improper woman without knowing it, I do so manage to shock people.' Elizabeth Gaskell's second novel challenged contemporary social attitudes by taking as its heroine a fallen woman. Ruth Hilton is an orphan and an overworked seamstress, an innocent preyed upon by a weak, wealthy seducer. When he heartlessly abandons her she finds shelter and kindness in the home of a dissenting minister and his sister, who do not reject her when she gives birth to an illegitimate child. But Ruth's self-sacrificing love and devotion are tested to the limit by a twist of fate that brings her past back to haunt her. Gaskell's depiction of Ruth lays bare Victorian hypocrisy and sexual double-standards, and her novel is a remarkable story of love, of the sanctuary and tyranny of the family, and of the consequences of lies and deception. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

'I think I must be an improper woman without knowing it, I do so manage to shock people.' Elizabeth Gaskell's second novel challenged contemporary social attitudes by taking as its heroine a fallen woman. Ruth Hilton is an orphan and an overworked seamstress, an innocent preyed upon by a weak, wealthy seducer. When he heartlessly abandons her she finds shelter and kindness in the home of a dissenting minister and his sister, who do not reject her when she gives birth to an illegitimate child. But Ruth's self-sacrificing love and devotion are tested to the limit by a twist of fate that brings her past back to haunt her. Gaskell's depiction of Ruth lays bare Victorian hypocrisy and sexual double-standards, and her novel is a remarkable story of love, of the sanctuary and tyranny of the family, and of the consequences of lies and deception. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

A wide-ranging exploration of the story of Ruth, a foreigner who became the founding mother of the Davidic dynasty “[A]n insightful exploration of the book’s themes of otherness, kindness, and loyalty. This is a valuable contribution to the literature on Ruth.”— Publishers Weekly “A virtuoso exploration of the Book of Ruth as an admirable touchstone in the realms of literature, art, and human values. Ilana Pardes foregrounds the timeless emergency of migrants and refugees with compassion and depth.”—Galit Hasan-Rokem, author of Web of Life The biblical Ruth has inspired numerous readers from diverse cultural backgrounds across many centuries. In this insightful volume, Ilana Pardes invites us to marvel at the ever-changing perspectives on Ruth’s foreignness. She explores the rabbis’ lauding of Ruth as an exemplary convert, and the Zohar’s insistence that Ruth’s Moabite background is vital to her redemptive powers. In moving to early modern French art, she looks at pastoral paintings in which Ruth becomes a local gleaner, holding sheaves in her hands. Pardes concludes with contemporary adaptations in literature, photography, and film in which Ruth is admired for being a paradigmatic migrant woman. Ruth’s afterlives not only reveal much about their own times but also shine new light on this remarkable ancient tale and point to its enduring significance. In our own era of widespread migration and dislocation, Ruth remains as relevant as ever.

A 'Book of the Year' in the Washington Post , Vulture , Wall Street Journal , Marie Claire and Vanity Fair ‘It will become an underground classic’ New York Times ‘A wonderful, loving, tenderly teasing and often moving portrait… Standout’ Wall Street Journal ‘An irresistibly smart and funny novel’ Jenny Offill, author of Weather , shortlisted for the Women’s Prize For Fiction Ruth is raised in a snow globe of Christian communism, a world without private property, television, or tolerance for idle questions. Every morning she braids her hair and wears the same costume, sings the same breakfast song in a family room identical to every other family room in the community; every one of these moments is meant to be a prayer, but to Ruth they remain puzzles. Her life is seen in glimpses through childhood, marriage, and motherhood, as she tries to manage her own perilous curiosity in a community built on holy mystery. Is she happy? Might this in fact be happiness? Ruth immerses us in an experience that challenges our most fervent beliefs.

A 'Book of the Year' in the Washington Post , Vulture , Wall Street Journal , Marie Claire and Vanity Fair ‘It will become an underground classic’ New York Times ‘A wonderful, loving, tenderly teasing and often moving portrait… Standout’ Wall Street Journal ‘An irresistibly smart and funny novel’ Jenny Offill, author of Weather , shortlisted for the Women’s Prize For Fiction Ruth is raised in a snow globe of Christian communism, a world without private property, television, or tolerance for idle questions. Every morning she braids her hair and wears the same costume, sings the same breakfast song in a family room identical to every other family room in the community; every one of these moments is meant to be a prayer, but to Ruth they remain puzzles. Her life is seen in glimpses through childhood, marriage, and motherhood, as she tries to manage her own perilous curiosity in a community built on holy mystery. Is she happy? Might this in fact be happiness? Ruth immerses us in an experience that challenges our most fervent beliefs.

A wide-ranging exploration of the story of Ruth, a foreigner who became the founding mother of the Davidic dynasty “[A]n insightful exploration of the book’s themes of otherness, kindness, and loyalty. This is a valuable contribution to the literature on Ruth.”— Publishers Weekly “A virtuoso exploration of the Book of Ruth as an admirable touchstone in the realms of literature, art, and human values. Ilana Pardes foregrounds the timeless emergency of migrants and refugees with compassion and depth.”—Galit Hasan-Rokem, author of Web of Life The biblical Ruth has inspired numerous readers from diverse cultural backgrounds across many centuries. In this insightful volume, Ilana Pardes invites us to marvel at the ever-changing perspectives on Ruth’s foreignness. She explores the rabbis’ lauding of Ruth as an exemplary convert, and the Zohar’s insistence that Ruth’s Moabite background is vital to her redemptive powers. In moving to early modern French art, she looks at pastoral paintings in which Ruth becomes a local gleaner, holding sheaves in her hands. Pardes concludes with contemporary adaptations in literature, photography, and film in which Ruth is admired for being a paradigmatic migrant woman. Ruth’s afterlives not only reveal much about their own times but also shine new light on this remarkable ancient tale and point to its enduring significance. In our own era of widespread migration and dislocation, Ruth remains as relevant as ever.