HOSANNA! The Most Controversial Novel of Our Time

London, Denis Archer, 1935. First edition: Very good blue cloth boards with red title to spine, publisher's small red motif of an archer to the front cover in red, a hint of rubbing along hinge but generally smart and clean, 8 vo. , 7.5 x 5 inches approx.., very good dust jacket being light beige printed in maroon, single spray of greenery to front cover, publisher's advertising to back cover, mild soiling to pale background, some minor chipping and rubbing to extremities, presented to best advantage in a clear plastic sleeve, pagination 287 pages, followed by publisher's advertisements, not clipped, no inscriptions, a little 'dusty' to top of closed edge. On the front cover the book is described as 'The Most Controversial Novel of Our Time. ' The title page describes the novel as 'The Remarkable Novel by Bernard Newman. ' The novel tackles the controversial hypothesis of what might have happened if Jesus had consented to be made King of the Jews. '"When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him king ---" Suppose they had ! ' Imagine the controversial nature of this novel released in the 1930s. Try to find other copies of this novel and you will meet a blank wall. There are a handful of copies in major libraries but nothing that is easy to find on the open market. The question has to be considered did the publisher find the book too hot to handle? Today we are more accustomed to fictitious works that try to shatter the accepted traditions of Christianity. One example is the Da Vinci Code, and look at the future that these fictional interpretations have caused! Very little can be found about this work but strangely it seems to have been reviewed in a Magazine called The Fantast published in England by C. S. Youd during the first couple of years of World War II. Http: //www.efanzines.com/AOY/AOY-09.htm; This publication does make reference to this book which puts the Life of Christ into a 'What if' context. Charles Rowlands reviewed this little-known book, which shows what might have happened if Christ had taken the wrong course and turned his powers to military and political purposes. In ôHosannaö, ChristÆs personality leads the Jews to drive the Romans from the land for a time, but the Romans re-conquer Jerusalem, Christ is crucified û and centuries later, the world has been converted to the Mohammedan religion. ' Bernard Newman wrote crime fiction such as The Death of a Harlot, first edition 1934. He also wrote under the pseudonym Don Betteridge. Thus Hosanna! Pre-dates his first Crime Fiction novel. *EXTRAORDINARY AND CONTROVERSIAL BOOK* Seldom seen on the open market. Without doubt there will be those who have sought this rare text for many years. An absolute treasure for collectors of controversial religious texts, 'black listed' novels and extremely rare first editions .