The following novels are intended for younger readers and correspond to the material covered in this website. Each of them has strengths and weaknesses, but the most common issue I have found is that the authors tend to write about Sephardic Jews as if they are Ashkenazi Jews or depict Western Sephardic Jews using Eastern Sephardic languages and customs. Older students may find Herbery Dobrinsky’s A Treasury of Sephardic Laws and Customs to be a useful starting point for thinking about this issue. Of the novels below, I have found The Diary of Asser Levy: First Jewish Citizen of New York by Daniela Weil to be the one of most accurate in terms of historical research. It is also a delight to read.
Orthodox Novels
The Family Aguilar by Marcus Lehman
“In this historical novel, Rabbi Marcus Lehmann paints a panoramic portrait of eighteenth century Spanish Jewry under the Inquisition, as well as one family’s drama and adventure, sorrow and lasting triumph. With a wealth of local color and amazing historical detail, the adapted version of The Family Aguilar has been a favorite for generations. ” Purchase.
The Strasbourg Saga
1. The Long Road to Freedom by Avner Gold
“The Long Road to Freedom tells the story of the Dominguez family’s struggle for survival. Danger lurks at every turn, and mysterious strangers in black carriages plot to betray and destroy them. Set against the authentic historical backdrop of Europe in the late seventeenth century, this riveting story of courage, faith and redemption moves from the royal palace at Versailles to the Jewish communities of Metz and Hamburg and into the explosives-filled Turkish tunnels at the historic siege of Vienna. Kings, rabbis, ministers, generals, bishops, dwarfs and numerous other colorful heroes and villains populate the pages of this book and drive it at breakneck speed toward its dramatic climax.” Purchase.
2. Scandal in Amsterdam by Avner Gold
“In Scandal in Amsterdam, the sequel to The Long Road to Freedom, Avner Gold transports us to the glittering Dutch capital at the height of its glory, when the Dutch Republic dominated the economy of the world, in large part because of its flourishing community of wealthy ex-Marranos. Great rabbis stand at the head of this dynamic community, but its day-to-day affairs are controlled by the Maamad, a council of laymen who rule with an iron hand and punish violators by putting them into cherem. As the story unfolds, the Dominguez family find themselves trapped between the enemy stalking them and the Maamad that is scrutinizing their every move.” Purchase.
3. The Fur Traders by Avner Gold
“On the day before Chanukah in the year 1684, a shocking event takes place in the beis midrash of the leading yeshivah of Amsterdam. The event leads to private accusations and confrontations and a public uproar that threatens to change the course of many lives. The complications that arise send the central characters on a hair-raising journey across the Atlantic Ocean and into the wilds of Indian country in upstate New York. In The Fur Traders, Avner Gold tells the explosive story of three friends, brought together by crisis and contention, who embark on a journey of discovery that brings them face to face with mortal danger time and time again. And in the end, it is their loyalty and devotion to each other that provide the only prospects for survival in every sense of the word. It is a story of treachery, anguish, despair and the redemptive powers of true friendship.” Purchase.
Secular Middle School Novels
The Cross by Day, the Mezuzzah by Night by Deborah Spector Siegel
“A thrilling young adult novel that captures the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition and the strength and determination of one young girl to preserve her family and culture at any cost.” Purchase.
The Diary of Asser Levy: First Jewish Citizen of New York by Daniela Weil
“In 1654, the first group of refugee Jews, fleeing persecution, arrived in America from Brazil. In New Amsterdam, they began a legal fight for religious and civil rights that helped shape the character of modern-day New York. Here middle-grade readers will be introduced to the real-life figure of Asser Levy, through imagined diary entries about his experiences.” Purchase.
A Pickpocket’s Tale by Karen Schwabach
“Molly Abraham is a kinchin mort: a ten-year-old thief trying not to starve on the London streets. But everything changes for Molly when she is sentenced to be transported to the American colonies. She becomes an indentured servant to a kind Jewish family in New York City, and Molly has it good. So why is it that all she wants to do is go back to London?” Purchase.
Esther by Sharon McKay
“Told as fiction, Esther portrays the remarkable, nearly incredible life and times of Esther Brandeau, a young girl who lived in the eighteenth century, and who was the first Jew to set foot in New France. That she did so disguised as a boy, and that the eventual discovery of her deceit became an international incident, is but one part of Esther’s dramatic story. With an emerging Canadian nation as its backdrop, Esther’s story encompasses the quest for gender equality and the larger quest for freedom—as real to a teenager in 1735 as it is today.” Purchase.
Always an Olivia: A Remarkable Family History (Jewish Identity)
“An elderly black grandmother passes on the story of the family’s Jewish origins to her young granddaughter, Carol Olivia. As family members flee the Spanish Inquisition, are kidnapped by pirates and eventually sail to America, one daughter in each generation is given the name Olivia, from the Hebrew Shulamit meaning “peace,” to honor the Jewish part of their ancestry. Critically-acclaimed author Carolivia Herron (Nappy Hair) shares this engaging, multicultural tale is based on her own family’s heritage.” This beautiful book is appropriate for slightly younger readers but will delight older ones as well. Purchase.