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Touchstone, 2004, 15.00, 500 pp. ISBN: 0743246071 In 1553 Hannah de Verde and her father flee Spain following the Inquisition which burned her mom at the stake for being Jewish. With the help of the Carpenters, they open up a London bookstore, changing their name to Greene. Their sponsors and the Greenes hide their Jewish traditions behind a Christian façade. Teens Hannah and Daniel Carpenter are betrothed to marry when she turns sixteen. Scholar John Dee and Lord Robert Dudley arrive at the bookstore seeking books from the early ages of Christianity and Hebrew antiquity. Hannah, garbed in boy's clothing, mentions a third person with them that excites John as he realizes that God gave Hannah the gift of sight. She describes an angel. Hannah delivers their purchases to Whitehall Palace. Robert introduces her to the ailing teen King Edward who names her his Holy Fool. She sees death lingering near Edward, but says nothing. Robert's father threatens to expose her and her father as Jews if she refuses the position. She accepts though Daniel is unhappy. Now her adventures amidst the royal intrigue begin over the next several years as Mary reigns. The solid depiction of real 1553-1558 historical figures provide an in-depth look at an era of transition from an ailing King Edward through the short reign of Queen Mary to the point of ascension of Queen Elizabeth. That serves as a double edged sword as at times the storyseems to go tediously on. Hannah is a strong protagonist who enables the audience to look closely at the royals and some key aristocrats while depicting the plight of the Jews in Western Europe. Historical readers will devour this deep look at England's mid sixteenth century monarchy. Harriet Klausner | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1600-1899 - Life of a profession: Ethnic/Regional/Religion Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Job/Profession/Status story Yes Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Main Character Gender - Female Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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