The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
A Novel
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4.1 • 19 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
When Catherine da Costa, a wealthy Manhattan matron, learns she has only a short time to live, she realizes that her family tree will die unless she passes on its legacy and traditions to her granddaughters. But Suzanne and Francesca, beautiful young women caught up in trendy causes and ambitious careers, have no interest in the past. Catherine almost despairs until one night she is visited by the ghost of her family's anscestor, an indomitable Renaissance businesswoman named Hannah Mandes.
The ghost of Hannah Mendes encourages Catherine to use every trick in the book to coerce the granddaughters to journey across Europe and acquaint themselves with their roots. While the sisters honor their grandmother's request out of loyalty, they believe their quest is futile--until it starts to uncover ancient pages from Hannah Mendes's fascinating memoir, and brings new loves into their lives.
Customer Reviews
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
This is one of the most moving historically-based fictional novels concerning the Spanish Jews who chose to convert to Catholicism rather than flee Spain during the Inquisition in order to use their political influence and wealth in the Spanish Court to try to rectify a scar on Spanish history, but alas, to no avail. As a Spanish-Portuguese Jew of Marrano descent, I was touched to read traditions of my people in print that I thought only existed in the oral transmission from parent to child. It is the story of two determined matriarchs, one from the past who guides one through a maze of inter-personal conflicts in the present, through life-changing events that affect the survival of their family's heritage and existence. In each case, they both achieve the seemingly impossible--the restoration and continuation of their True Faith and identity, and a secure future for their line. Naomi Ragen, an Eastern European Jew now living in Israel, weaves her story as though she herself is a Spanish Jew! Unless ice water runs through your veins, you will become one with Catherine da Costa as soon as she begins to weave her remarkable tale.