Isabela's Way
Barbara Stark-Nemon’s elegant, suspenseful historical novel Isabela’s Way follows the escape route of a Portuguese girl fleeing the horrors of the Inquisition.
In 1605, while her father is away on business, fourteen-year-old Isabela loses her mother to the plague. Her family is known for its beautiful embroidered items; Isabela inherited her mother’s needlework talents and, despite her youth, continues to fulfill embroidery orders in her father’s absence. But Isabela is put under further duress when she learns that, due to encroaching Christian inquisitors, she will have to leave her home. Though Isabela believes she is a Christian, she later discovers that she was born into a Jewish family. And while other “New Christians” in the community claim to be Catholic converts, they maintain Jewish religious practices with clandestine devotion.
As Isabela joins a secret network of persecuted Jews, she is tasked with embroidering coded symbols onto decorative doorway banners. Specific depictions of roses, candles, stars, and lions for the Lion of Judah indicate whether a designated place along the travelers’ route is safe or not. The book sustains tension as Isabela and other fugitives venture north to France and Germany against a meticulous backdrop of historical details, sensual notes about natural beauty, and descriptions of exquisite, intricate embroidery patterns.
The shifting perspectives broaden the story beyond Isabela’s perception. Ana, a healer and herbalist, is included, as is Isabela’s father, Gabril. Romance develops on various levels, from Isabela’s burgeoning relationship with David, who helps navigate their escape, to Ana’s love of a Kabbalist merchant, Eduardo. And in a heartening yet covert alliance, both Jews and Christians unite to defy the Inquisition’s prolonged tyranny.
The entrancing historical novel Isabela’s Way extols the power of subversion and defiance against persecution.
Reviewed by
Meg Nola
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
