THE BOOK OF RACHAEL imagines the life of Rachael, the fiercely intelligent younger sister of Joshua of Nazareth and Daughter of Yosef and Miriame. Because she was born a female, Rachael is expected to resign to a life of sacrifice, primarily producing and nurturing men.

In this Patriarchal time, women are not permitted to learn or act independently, but rather they must be devoted to cleaning, cooking and keeping a house. From a young age Rachael is acutely aware of the oppression of women and rebels against the domestic drudgery of her life.

Rachael challenges her community, the authorities and her family, particularly within a somewhat fraught relationship with her mother, Miriame. Defying the restrictions of her gender, and with the help of her brother, Rachael becomes education and passionately falls in love with his close friend, the charismatic warrior Judah of Iscariot.

Her brother Joshua becomes a champion of the sick and downtrodden, his gift as a charismatic speaker results in a growing number of followers. Rachael and Judah bear witnesses to Joshua’s followers ignoring his human failings; Joshua is not the stuff of miracles and spirituality.

This reimagining of the history and the mythology that surrounds the story of Jesus Christ, allows us to look into the untold and forgotten stories – the women of those times and the personal actions of Rachael, Judah and Joshua, which have enormous consequences.