ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I got into writing by accident. I was teaching Religious Education in senior high schools, and was looking for accessible material, something that would interest students.

I could not find it.

There was hardly anything, for example, on the women of the Bible. Available books were either scholarly and out of the reach of the normal student, or cloyingly sentimental and sometimes historically inaccurate as well.

I approached Harper Collins with a book proposal which they accepted. They published 'Women in the Bible' in 1997. It contained the stories of twelve biblical women, told from a historical point of view - I had originally been a History teacher.

After ten years the book went out of print and the copyright reverted to me, so instead of letting it disappear I decided to put it on the web - you can find it at www.womeninthebible.net

I got hooked on the Web, and have been writing for it ever since.

This site explores ancient Israel and the towns and cities where the Bible events happened. It also tells the stories of the men and women - good and bad - who lived there.

My religious and personal background?

I was born into a Catholic family, and attended Catholic schools and then the University of Sydney, Australia. My first degree was in History and Modern Languages.

I became a schoolteacher and agreed to teach Religious Studies, which can be taken as a University entrance subject in Australia. I soon found I was out of my depth - attending church regularly does not prepare a person for teaching Religion to high school students.

So I went back to University and gained advanced qualifications in this area.

After my husband died, I moved out of teaching into full-time writing. I wrote and edited a variety of Religion textbooks, and developed the Religious Education curriculum now used extensively throughout Australia.

But my chief interest was always Biblical Studies, and my websites reflect this.

I am interviewed on national radio or talk-back programs whenever there is a fuss about something to do with the Bible, as there was when 'The Da Vinci Code' was published.

Let me know if you have suggestions for the website. I am always interested in feedback.

Elizabeth Fletcher

CONTACT DETAILS

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