The House of Nasi: Doña Gracia

by Cecil Roth

Dona Gracia, a Marrano or 'converso' (secret Jew), flees the Inquisition in Portugal. She wanders Europe, rises to financial power in Antwerp, finds sanctuary, finally, in Turkey, where she spends her last years as the uncrowned Queen of Jewry in the Ottoman Empire.

Genres: Biography, History, Jewish, Judaism, Nonfiction, Historical

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Cecil Roth (5 March 1899 – 21 June 1970),[1] was a British Jewish historian.

A prolific writer, Roth published more than 600 books and articles, which have been translated into many languages, including histories of the Jews in England (1941) and Italy (1946), A History of the Marranos (3d ed. 1966), The Jews in the Renaissance (1959), Jewish Art (1961), and The Dead Sea Scrolls (1965).

He was educated at Merton College, Oxford (Ph.D., 1924)[1] and later returned to Oxford as Reader in Post-Biblical Jewish Studies from 1939 to 1964.[2] Thereafter he was visiting professor at Bar-Ilan University, Israel (1964–1965), and at the City University of New York (1966–1969).

Roth was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1925 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1941.[1] He died, aged 71, on 21 June 1970 in Jerusalem.[2]

Reviews

[Kressel Housman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm doing research into the life of Dona Gracia these days, and for a long time, this was the authoritative English source. (Andree Aelion Brooks' 500-page tome might have dethroned it, but I have a feeling that Professor Roth's book was a stepping stone for her.) For those who don't know, Dona Gracia was a Jewish woman who lived at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, and because she inherited her husband's business, she was able to do a tremendous amount of charity and even organized rescue efforts for Marrano Jews to escape. Professor Roth compares her to Henrietta Szold, who saved Jews during the Holocaust.

You can't come away from this book without loving Dona Gracia. My biggest disappointment is that he was unable to reconstruct the details of her rescue efforts - who, how, when, and where. Given the Jewish tradition of making charity as anonymous as possible, that's not really surprising. That she did it was evident in all the accolades she received in her time, which the author does quote. But whom precisely did she do it for? I'd love to know specific stories. Perhaps I'll find out in Brooks' book.

[Jindřich Zapletal · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the life story of a particularly rich and independent merchant woman, the author describes the main stations and cog wheels of the underground railway that took Jews from Inquisition-era Spain to the safety of the Ottoman empire (Seville-Lisbon-Antwerp-overland to Italian city states-Ragusa-Saloniki-Constantinople). While the author keeps close to scholarly sources cited in the extensive bibliography, the book is written in a rather straightforward, adulatory tone. This has the advantage of making a very complicated story whole and palatable. The tone is easily explained by the publication date of the book. To me, it was a great read clarifying many points that were left obscure in more scholarly treatments I consulted previously.

[Vera · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of an amazing Jewish Renaissance woman. Writing style is not to my liking. The same story told by Simon Shama comes across much more fascinating, but this one was the written much earlier (published in 1948). That in itself is interesting. For example he says that up to "nowadays" Portuegese school children read the 3rd dialog in Samuel Usque's "Consolation for the tribulations of Israel" (published in 1553 in Ferrara). This would be a historical source for the information on Inquisition. I wonder if in 2019 it is no longer the case.

[Donna Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not what I had hoped. It is not written in story form, instead it’s a compilation of research into documents and records from the 1400s through 1600s. It’s written more documentary style and was difficult to follow. While I did learn a little about the Inquisition’s expulsion of Jewish people from the Iberian peninsula, I would’ve loved to get to know this key figure, Gracia Nasi, better.

[Aaron Nommaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dona Gracia of the House of Nasi is a fascinating tale of a powerful and wealthy Jewish woman. Her massive fortune allowed her to help many Jews escape the Inquisition and, eventually, find a safe place to exist in the Ottoman empire. As a well respected historian, Cecil Roth has brought Dona Gracia and her story to life.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to give a book like this a not great grade. Material was great. Writer overly complicated the language and brought in too much noise to the story. Interesting read though and fascinating subject.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating history of a very important woman of whom I had never heard. A heroine of the time of the Inquisition who saved the lives of many Jews. No one like her until the time of the Nazis!

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Moses, Doña Gracia helped many to the Promised Land during the Inquisition. She never made it there in life, but she is buried there.

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great biography considering the fact that Cecil Roth did not have as much information available to him as the biographers of tomday's world do.

[Paris Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! A part of history most people don't have a clue about. Very empowering for women. A positive side note to the Inquisitions in Spain and Italy.