THE BOOK FAIR

Mitchell James Kaplan

Author:      Mitchell James Kaplan

Published: 2010

Genre:        Historical Novel

Cover:        Paperback

Pages:         277

Review:

A novel of the Inquisition set in Spain, during the late 1480’s.  Cristobal Colon, known in Genoa as Christoffa Colombo, harbors a plan to sail the oceans in search of riches and wealth.  Colon’s long held interest in cartography and his penchant for collecting valuable artifacts stirs his ambitions.

Colon gives one such ancient artifact, a Hebrew document, to Luis de Santangel, the royal chancellor of Aragon, a converso.  Luis de Santangel meets secretly with friends who share memories of their families who once practiced Judaism.  After a fellow Converso is murdered, the chancellor knows action must be taken to save themselves.

 

The novel is well written, descriptive, with finely developed characters and an intelligent, fast paced plot.  The author centers the novel on an artifact of which little is known.  It is unknown who wrote the Hebrew manuscript, the Toledot Yeshu, or when it was written, with opinions ranging from the second century to the tenth century.   It could have written by Jew or Christian.   The manuscript shows no characteristics of Jewish writings other than the language of Hebrew.  If written by Jews, the manuscript would have been a satire on Jewish life in Christian lands.  If written by Christian priests or monks, the manuscript would have been ideal to promote anti-Semitism, as is its current use.

The character of Luis de Santangel, “‘Comptroller of the Treasury,’” is based on historical fact.   Although Ferdinand intervened on behalf of Santangel and saved his life, the Inquisition destroyed Santangel’s family.  The wealth the Inquisition collected bankrolled the Inquisition, the Royals and the Church.  Christopher Columbus requested financing for his exploration to the New World.  Santangel argued Colon’s position to the Royals and helped arrange finances for the voyage.

Torquemada based the necessity of the Inquisition on the necessity of insuring the conversos, the Jews forced to convert to Christianity, were true Christians and not secret Jews, and would thus, save the Church.  Many conversos resented the forced conversion, so secretly practiced Judaism which allowed the Church to condone the Inquisition for centuries.  The Church has never made financial restitution to the descendants of the victims.

 

Note:

Christopher Columbus is the Anglicized name of Cristoforo Colombo from Latin and the Spanish name, Cristobal Colon.