At church last night I had the idea to use the story of Esther as a base for a novel. The question is, should it be the actual story, set about 500 years before Christ in the Persian Empire, or should I set it in another place and time...or another world entirely? Other people have fictionalized the actual story, but I don't know if those books are any good. I want to make a really good novel out of it. There are so many great story elements there.

One idea is to do a version of it set in WWII Germany. Though that would require major changes to some elements of the story.

My friend, Campgirl (who is a new member here) is waiting on the History forum so she can share her writing. She is currently writing a fiction story of Esther. Hers is the "actual" story, and she has been doing a lot of research about the culture and time period.

I think that it's a cool idea to do the Esther story in another place and time! I could see that as being an interesting novel!

Whatever you do, I know Campgirl will probably be interested. I'm going to direct her to this thread.

Cool. I'd like to read hers.

Ooh. I really like the WWII idea.

*will keep an eye on this thread*

I talked it over a bit with a writer friend and I'm not really liking the WWII idea much. It could work well, but...IDK.

Going through my Bible class, I've actually been playing with the idea of throwing little modern spins on Bible stories. I'm sure it's been done before but I think it would be cool. I don't know how well WWII would work though... A separate world does sound cool though.

I think a separate place and time sounds great! And I think setting it in a fantasy world would be really cool.

I think the other world would make for a really cool story! Although a modern-day Esther would also be cool.

*nods*

I think I really like the idea of having it in the original setting...still not sure, but Persia is a pretty awesome setting...

Hmm. That's a possibility. What country would that be? Need a place hostile to Christianity and ruled by a king.

Great, thanks.

But in how many of those countries is a royal harem a (publicly) accepted custom anymore? I see a few problems (solvable problems, but problems nonetheless) with a present-day (or any other time in the last 1500 years or so) setting for a reimagining of Esther.

First, in the modern world, harems of concubines have fallen entirely out of fashion, even for absolute monarchs. If a ruler has one, this is Not Talked About, while the plot of Esther requires a public conscription of all particularly attractive young women into the royal harem. And this is part of why the story is so gripping---Esther's (and Mordecai's) first moral dilemma is whether, and how, Esther entering the king's harem (as required by the irrevocable law of Persia) can be permissible or necessary under God's even more irrevocable law. (Not that it's put that clearly, since one of the literary features of Esther is that God is not explicitly mentioned.)

Second, any time after the first few centuries A.D., if the "people" that Esther is pivotally a member of in the reimagining is Christians, the stakes cannot be as high as the original. With very few exceptions, every single Jew lived under the authority of the king of Persia, so it was well within his power to wipe them out entirely. By contrast, the explosive spread of the Gospel has ensured that there are Christians very nearly everywhere on Earth, from very nearly every people, race, tribe, nation, and tongue. No political ruler can credibly order the massacre of every Christian; all that would be at stake would be the fate of the Christians within whatever country, even presuming that they were somehow identifiable.

Third, arguably, the culture is different. Many Christians (particularly since the Reformation) would not require an edict from the king giving them permission to defend themselves, but would take up arms as soon as the first edict was published.

Some things to think about ...

I think a more modern setting (a later Persian or WWII) would be cool. One Night with the King was a twist on the story of Esther. It was wildly popular, so I would suggest doing something completely other. Something set in a different period that could have the same awesomely amazing story elements of Esther. My 2 cents.

I don't know when and where One Night with the King is set...

I believe One Night with the King was based in the same time period and place, but the makers added a lot to the story.

One Night with the King is set during the exact time period that the Esther story takes place in the bible. Lots of creative licensees were taken with the story, but some of it was expertly crafted to coincide with the biblical account.

K. *thinking* I guess I just have to decide if I want it in a modern setting (which would complicate a lot of things), or not. And if not, what setting I'd put it in other than Persia.

*thoughtfully* Could you possibly put the story into another ancient setting such as Egypt or Greece? Or what about an American Indian Esther?

I love the story of Esther. It was my favorite story that I wanted to write a novel about next to the Frog Prince. (I have three unfinished Frog Prince stories. With Esther it's more a spectacular collection of plays.) One Night with the King was a brilliant book and a pathetic movie.

It would be really interesting to see it in the modern day, but it's hard to separate Esther and Persia in my mind.

Same here. I really would like to set it in the actual time and place, but since that's been done many times common sense tells me to do it in a fantasy world. I think I've decided. Now I have to decide what sort of world it'll be. Something wild and awesome and just as gaudy as Persia.