Rev. Jacob R. Perkins - 1959
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Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa
I. Biography
During his lifetime, Rev. Jacob R. Perkins served as author, warden and clergyman. He wrote two biblical novels, the first called The Emperor's Physician which sold over 400,000 copies. The second, Antioch Actress, sold over 200,000. The Emperor's Physician was actually written in San Francisco, where he used to read it aloud to parishioners of the church that he served there; it wasn't published until after he had been living in Council Bluffs for 20 years. Rev. Perkins served as pastor at the First Congregational Church in Council Bluffs for 25 years beginning in 1922. There he used to type 2, 000 words a day. Rev. Perkins also served as pastor in Sioux City, Iowa. From 1916-1920 he served as warden of the state penitentiary at Fort Madison. His hope there was to "turn around" as many prisoners as he was able.
II. Literary Works
The Emperor's Physician (1946, c1944)
Antioch Actress: A Novel of Pagan Against Christian (1946)
Trails, Rails, and War: The Life of General G. M. Dodge (1981)
Pontius Pilate's Wife
This essay was submitted by a student of Rod Cameron, a teacher at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa.