Product Details
Pocket, September 2009
Hardcover, 448 pages
ISBN-10: 1439118221
ISBN-13: 9781439118221
Description
Crafting a richly textured, absorbing novel based on the life of her ancestor, renowned thirteenth-century Jewish scholar Meir ben Baruch of Rothenberg, Michelle Cameron paints a page-turning and deeply personal portrait of Judaism in medieval France and Germany. Imagined through the eyes of Rabbi Meir's wife, Shira, this opulent drama reveals a devout but independent woman who struggles to preserve her religious traditions while remaining true to herself as she and her family witness the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe.
Raised by her widowed rabbi father and a Christian nursemaid in Normandy, Shira is a free-spirited, inquisitive girl whose love of learning shocks the community. But in Meir ben Baruch, a brilliant scholar, she finds her soul mate and a window on the world of Talmudic scholarship that fascinates her.
Married to Meir in Paris, Shira blossoms as a wife and mother, savoring the intellectual and social challenges that come with being the wife of a prominent scholar. After every copy of the Talmud in Paris is confiscated and burned, Shira and her family seek refuge in Germany. Yet even there they experience bloody pogroms and intensifying hatred. As Shira weathers heartbreak and works to find a middle ground between two warring religions, she shows her children and grandchildren how to embrace the joys of life, both secular and religious.
A multigenerational novel that captures a hitherto little-known part of history with deep emotion and riveting authenticity -- and includes an illuminating author's note and a Hebrew glossary -- The Fruit of Her Hands is a powerful novel about the enduring spirit of the Jewish people.
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How did you come to write this book?
My mother always told me that her family could trace its roots back to the 1200s, but I never delved into that statement. Then, when I was considering writing about another person in the family, I stumbled across a reference to Meir of Rothenberg in book that contained my mother’s extended family tree. Intrigued, I did what any 21st Century historical novelist would do with a 13th Century ancestor – I googled him. When I uncovered his amazing story, I knew it was a novel I had to write.
"Michelle Cameron deftly gives dramatic voice to the Jewish women of the Middle Ages. The Fruit of Her Hands is suspenseful, soulful, and plain wonderful. It takes us to the heights of scholarship and imagination."
-- Ruchama King, author of Seven Blessings
"Michelle Cameron delves into one of the darkest eras of the Jewish past and brings forth a deeply compassionate and thoroughly gripping story of a woman whose fate is inextricably bound up with that of her people. Meticulously researched yet richly imaginative, it will keep you spellbound until the last, enthralling page."
-- Eva Etzioni-Halevy, author of The Triumph of Deborah
"The Fruit of Her Hands lets the reader experience first-hand the tragic end of hundreds of years of Jewish presence in medieval France through the voice of its passionate and learned heroine. This novel shows us that women, too, can bear witness to history."
-- Maggie Anton, author of Rashi's Daughters
"With a powerful immediacy, Cameron's meticulously researched historical is told by Shira, an anomalous 13th-century woman raised (and educated) like a son by her widowed father...Readers will drink in the historical detail."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Cameron's clean, clear prose clings to the reader's memory long after it's been read, as does her heroine. This novel will appeal to everyone who craves an accurate, arresting novel."
-- Romantic Times
"Readers who appreciated Maggie Anton's Rashi's Daughters trilogy will be entertained."
-- Library Journal
"A beautifully written saga, [...] With strong main characters, a myriad of important secondary players, The Fruit of Her Hands is a gripping, fascinating, and informative narrative of a tragic, yet important historical period."
-- Romance Reviews Today
"The Fruit of Her Hands is equally rich as history and fiction. ...[A] book so rich with wonderful characters, vivid settings, and an absolutely lush and wonderful depiction of the strengths of the medieval Jewish home and community. Cameron is an author I certainly hope to hear more from. This is a first-rate choice for Jewish book clubs."
-- San Diego Jewish World
