The Inquisitor's Wife by Jeanne Kalogridis

 

The year is 1481 and the location is Seville, Spain.  Marisol lives with her parents.  Her father is what is called an Old Christian; his family having converted from Judiasm decades ago and lived as Christians since.  Her mother is known as a converso, a Jewish person who has recently converted and is suspected of not truly having adopted the Christian faith.

The family has been safe but times are changing.  Queen Isabella married a converso herself, King Ferdinand and had the two had protected the Jews of Spain.  But now the Inquisition has come to Seville and it appears that Queen Isabella needs gold more than she needs to protect the Jews in her lands.  All Jewish families are given three days to vacate Seville.  This is a harsh punishment but perhaps easier than those left behind to face the torturers of the Inquisition.

Marisol's mother walks into the river and drowns herself to protect her family.  Her father a week later, marries Marisol off to Gabriel, a neighbor who works for the Inquisition and whose brother is a highly placed official there.  He disowns Marisol, all a ruse to try to save her as he knows he is a likely target.  Marisol has no love for Gabriel and is soon reunited with her childhood love, Antonio.  Can the two of them escape from the horror that has overtaken Seville?

Jeanne Kalogridis has made a name for herself in the historical fiction genre.  This book details the quick escalation of the Inquisition and how it was based as much on greed as any religious doctrine.  The research the author did is extensive and sensitive readers may want to skim over the passages detailing the tortures prisoners were dealt.  The reader will learn much about religious persecution and one of the worst periods in Spanish history.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.