Overview

Finalist for the 2020 National Jewish Book Awards

In this dazzling work of historical fiction, the Man Booker International-long-listed author of War and Turpentine reconstructs the tragic story of a medieval noblewoman who leaves her home and family for the love of a Jewish boy.
 
In eleventh-century France, Vigdis Adelaïs, a young woman from a prosperous Christian family, falls in love with David Todros, a rabbi's son and yeshiva student. To be together, the couple must flee their city, and Vigdis must renounce her life of privilege and comfort. Pursued by her father's knights and in constant danger of betrayal, the lovers embark on a dangerous journey to the south of France, only to find their brief happiness destroyed by the vicious wave of anti-Semitism sweeping through Europe with the onset of the First Crusade.
 
What begins as a story of forbidden love evolves into a globe-trotting trek spanning continents, as Vigdis undertakes an epic journey to Cairo and back, enduring the unimaginable in hopes of finding her lost children.
 
Based on two fragments from the Cairo Genizah--a repository of more than three hundred thousand manuscripts and documents stored in the upper chamber of a synagogue in Old Cairo--Stefan Hertmans has pieced together a remarkable work of imagination, re-creating the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers whose steps he retraces almost a millennium later. Blending fact and fiction, and with immense imagination and stylistic ingenuity, Hertmans painstakingly depicts Vigdis's terrible trials, bringing the Middle Ages to life and illuminating a chaotic world of love and hate.

ISBN-13

9781524747084

ISBN-10

1524747084

Weight

1.25 Pounds

Dimensions

6.41 x 1.10 x 9.54 In

List Price

$27.95

Format

Hardcover

Language

English

Pages

304 pages

Publisher

Pantheon

Published On

2020-02-04



View All Offers

Sort by:

Rows per page:

1–5 of 5

Condition
Seller
Seller Comments
Price
Used, Good
Seller details
Dream Books Co.
★★★★★

Denver, CO, USA

Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting...
$5.94

 Free delivery by: 01 Apr 2026

Used, Good
Seller details
Zoom Books East
★★★★☆

Glendale Heights, IL, USA

Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also i...
$6.01

 Free delivery by: 01 Apr 2026

Used, Good
Seller details
Zoom Books Company
★★★★☆

Lynden, WA, USA

Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also i...
$6.03

 Free delivery by: 01 Apr 2026

Used, Good
Seller details
Books-FYI
★★★★★

cadiz, ky, USA

NEW ITEMS FROM STUDYMASTER TO LIST ON BOOKSFYI AS USED.
$7.64

 Free delivery by: 01 Apr 2026


Bookstores.com relies on cookies to improve your experience.