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There was so much truth in the characterization, the narrative was compelling and this was a very authentic story of Inquisition Spain, but I have read a number of books like this and I'm well acquainted with the history. So unfortunately, there were no surprises for me here. I actually thought The Last Jewby Noah Gordon, which I read earlier this month, was a more original book dealing with this period.
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Reviewed for Author Exposure
http://www.authorexposure.com/2011/06...
By Fire, By Water transports the reader to a chaotic, shameful, yet unprecedented period in world history. Late in the 15th Century, Queen Ysabel of Castile and King Fernando of Aragon, politically connected through their marriage, sought not only to unite all of Spain’s kingdoms, but also to fully purge non-Christians from their unified Roman Catholic sovereignty. While the monarchy’s original intent to unify Spain spawned ...more
http://www.authorexposure.com/2011/06...
By Fire, By Water transports the reader to a chaotic, shameful, yet unprecedented period in world history. Late in the 15th Century, Queen Ysabel of Castile and King Fernando of Aragon, politically connected through their marriage, sought not only to unite all of Spain’s kingdoms, but also to fully purge non-Christians from their unified Roman Catholic sovereignty. While the monarchy’s original intent to unify Spain spawned ...more
Mitchell James Kaplan paints a vivid picture of 15th century Spain in this novel about the lives of conversos (Jews who converted to Christianity to save themselves from religious intolerance) in the midst of the Spanish Inquisition.
The book was a bit slow to start for me, but once it did, I was hooked. The characters were compelling and the narrative included intrigue. There aren't many works of historical fiction that tackle the topic of Spanish Jews or the Muslims of Granada, so I enjoyed rea ...more
The book was a bit slow to start for me, but once it did, I was hooked. The characters were compelling and the narrative included intrigue. There aren't many works of historical fiction that tackle the topic of Spanish Jews or the Muslims of Granada, so I enjoyed rea ...more
I wish GR would like you give 1/2 stars, b/c this book is really a solid 3-1/2 star read. It offers a very appealing and readable story to provide context to the New Inquisition. There are many celebrity cameos -- Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, Christopher Columbus, Tomas de Torquemada (sp?), but the story centers on the Kings Chancellor and his life as a converso trying to understand his true heritage while at the same time not losing all that he has worked so hard to achieve in terms of we
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Spain.
Excellent read - very interesting - life during the Spanish Inquisition. I learned a lot!
Excellent read - very interesting - life during the Spanish Inquisition. I learned a lot!
Jun 09, 2010
Lynne
marked it as wishlist-f
Jun 12, 2010
Marieke
marked it as to-read
Dec 21, 2010
Dana
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Sep 16, 2011
Stephanie
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Nov 01, 2011
Nina
marked it as to-read
Dec 31, 2011
Jen
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Jan 19, 2012
KatyaR
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Apr 05, 2012
Kimberly
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Apr 06, 2013
Christie
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Jul 30, 2013
Julie
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Dec 14, 2013
Chris Huntley
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Nov 08, 2014
Pragya
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Mar 29, 2015
Dee
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Oct 15, 2015
Sarah Bradley
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