The Turquoise Ring

by Grace Tiffany

The author of Will and My Father Had a Daughter revisits Shakespeare's controversial play, The Merchant of Venice, in the story of a young Jew, Shiloh ben Gozán, who flees the Spanish Inquisition with his infant daughter and a valuable turquoise ring that has a profound influence on his life and those of five remarkable women. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Italy, Shakespeare

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Grace Tiffany is an American writer who lives and teaches in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her novels include MY FATHER HAD A DAUGHTER (2003), WILL (2004), THE TURQUOISE RING (2005), ARIEL (2006), PAINT (2013), GUNPOWDER PERCY (2016), and her latest, THE OWL WAS A BAKER'S DAUGHTER (2025). She has also translated writings by the Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges and the Mexican author Maria Luisa Puga.

Reviews

[emmerspoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars because Portia’s section of the story felt so disconnected from the rest. I loved the setting and characters, but the part of the story where the author connects it to the storyline of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice felt very forced. This book definitely paints an excellent, sympathetic, and tragic backstory for Shakespeare’s controversial character, Shylock.

[Gina H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely superb. I can’t understand why this book doesn’t have a higher rating. The author finely crafts a web of strong women dealing with the challenges of their time, connected by a turquoise ring. This would be splendid enough, but she also adds the ingenious interplay of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice re-imagined. I can’t recommend this book enough!!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This is the best book I've ever read from just picking something randomly off the new books rack at the library. The characters were deep and likable, and my book club really enjoyed it. I find my self comparing all my subsequent book club books to this one, and few live up to this standard.

The story is also based on The Merchant of Venice (from all the women's perspectives), which I didn't read until afterward, but I love Shakespeare and I loved the similarities. Reading the MoV afterward brought on a new appreciation for the story and characters, but I'm glad I had no expectations going into the book.

[Cecilia Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

While drawing inspiration from Shakespeare's: The Merchant of Venice, Tiffany chooses to shift focus to the female characters. At the same time, Tiffany provides a historical background for the anti-Semitism that is found in the original play.

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story from the start, and liked it better and better as it went along. I liked the interweaving of the stories of the five women, and I found the nods to other works of Shakespeare highly amusing.

I am drawn to this sort of tale, approaching a well-known story from a different perspective. I like the way the author can play with loose ends and mysteries from the original and provide their own explanation. In this case, the take on the relationships among Portia, Nerissa, Bassiano, and Antonio was fun and fit nicely into the original story. And the background of Jessica's mother and grandmother brings some depth to that character.

A very entertaining read.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I thought this was a creative reinterpretation of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. It tells the story of the Jewish character named Shylock and how the turquoise ring he received from his wife influenced the lives of many. There could have been a brief history synopsis at the beginning of the book for readers who may not be familiar with the Spanish Inquisition and the barbarous results of it. I also wished there had been greater attention to scenery and setting. The author had a perfect opportunity to transport us back to the 16th century through the five senses and while she included some details, I thought it could have been executed better.

[Lisa James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written novel form of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. It's a lovely, haunting interpretation of the play, & I found it much easier to read. The characters are much more "alive" in this book, & their back stories are more fully fleshed out.

[Laszlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funtastic interpretation, exelent finish !!!
I was really enjoyed it THANKS
Laszlo

[Martina Ardans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace Tiffany did a fantastic job at connecting all the characters back to the ring.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Started out ok enough but got ridiculous.

[Sapna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read.

[LeAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous retelling of the Merchant of Venice. A bit bawdy in places, but then, Shakespeare is bawdy. Tiffany takes the main characters of the Bards comedy and develops their backstories and motivations beginning in Toledo during the Spanish Inquisition. Her view is strongly feminist: All the men are fools or villains except Shiloh/Shylock.

Tiffany moves the story from the fifteenth century to Shakespeares own lifetime. Its closely based on the original (even the ring is there, given by Shylocks wife Leah), but she twists the characters in ways that Shakespeare would not recognize, although I suspect he would approve. It becomes more tragedy than comedy and is every bit as dramatic.

The author challenges the racial and religious prejudice that Shakespeare assumes as a product of his own 16th c Europe by taking us inside the dreams and tragedies of Jewish and Moorish characters. As a Christian, there is much to cause shame for the mistreatment and malignment of members of other religions. But the author falls short of maligning Christ when near the beginning she has a priest say, In the worst of the ordeal [of the Spanish Inquisition], do not confuse Him with His ministers (p 88).

An excellent read. I am eager to see more from this author.

[Chrystyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's based on the Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare.

It is about 5 women who in the end are related by circumstance. The scene is the middle ages in Europe. The characters are: 1) a noble lady; 2) a prostitute; 3) a swordmaker's daughter; 4) the wife of a merchant; 5) the daughter of the merchant. Some of these women are true blood Christians and others are either Jew/Muslim or "publicly" converted Christians (the Inquisition comes into play). The the crux of the story is the turquoise ring. In the beginning we are not really sure of its significance, but as the story unfolds, we realize that all of the ladies have some sort of relationship with that ring.

Although I found some parts in the middle of the story to drag a bit, I still enjoyed it nonetheless. The novel is divided in parts so that each part is about each main character.

I highly recommend this for anyone who likes historical fiction with a similarity to Shakespeare's works.”

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tad contrived as a tale for my taste, but a fascinating, horrifying, educational, and fleetingly hilarious and encouraging tale of life in general, and womens' lives, particularly, in the mid-late 16th c. Author Grace Tiffany (Professor of Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama at Western Michigan University), creates a fascinating illustration of the era's too often brutal religious tensions. Using dialog between characters, stereotypical representatives of the time, Tiffany both blurs and clarifies the distinctions between Jews and Christians, and between Jews and Christians from specific locales. Complete with undercover Rabbis, a cross-dressing woman, foppish, feather-bedecked idiots, and a handsome, strong male lead, there's something for everyone in this book!

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book did not quite reach to me, as I had hoped it would. The book is supposedly "about" Shiloh (aka Shylock) and a specific ring, but as it's told through the story of five women, the focus is muddy. Two of the women's stories' are intriguing, one is incredibly dull, and the others rather bland.

They read more like romance novels rather than passionate drama as one might expect from a tale told of Shakespeare (with the one exception).

Sadly, not recommended.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on Shylock from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. It's his "back story" so to speak.
The Inquisition is still virulent in Europe. Jews are hounded and harassed wherever they live - Spain, Italy, England.
Shiloh and his family and other people he deals with are fleshed out. You get a wonderful understanding of the times - the good and the bad.
It's an easy, fun read so far.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author has several books that are sort of re-writings or re-imaginings of Shakespeare's works. This one is a retelling of The Merchant of Venice from the point of view of Shylock and four (or thereabouts?) important women in his life. I actually haven't read Merchant of Venice and this book really made me want to!

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable and engaging, though the prose was a little overdone at times. I think a lot of this was lost on me because I'm not deeply familiar with The Merchant of Venice. Still, a very enjoyable plane read with an interesting, if melodramatic, picture of anti-Semitism in Renaissance Italy and Inquisition Spain.

[Sandi Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Turquoise Ring is a take on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. I haven't read this Shakespearean play so I sought out Cliffs Notes for a thorough summary, which was very helpful in understanding why parts of the novel seem like a farce. I must say that I must preferred the narrative of Shylock and his daughter Jessica to the 'comedic' passages.

[Heather Guerena · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried on like three separate occasions to read this book and I just couldn't get past the second chapter. The writing is just not engaging, it is taking to long to get to the point and the characters are slightly annoying. I didn't enjoy it.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. I loved Tiffany's storytelling and the way that you could still tell that it was a Shakespeare story. It was really interesting to read about Shylock/Shiloh the moneylender from another perspective.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book club book. If you've read Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice then this book is a good partner to it. The difference is that this book follows the story of the character of Shylock or Shiloh and the females who were a part of his life. It is worth the read.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would really give this book 3.5 stars. I liked it. There were times that the names got confusing and the history was a little dry, but the story kept me reading and the characters were wonderful.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was an extremely interesting book to read. all five women characters really had an interesting point of view. I also liked how it was the Merchant of Venice with a completely different point of view. It is tough to get into but I'd recommend it.

[Sheila Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was great to see Shylock get his own story and I was fascinated by how the author interwove his life story with that of the women in his life. It was almost enough to make me want to read Shakespeare. Almost.

[SarahLeeNotCake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retelling of the Merchant of Venice from Portia's perspective. What's not to like, Portia is a strong intriguing character and it was very enjoyable to go on the journey with her instead of the rather dull, idiotic men in Merchant.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

hmmmm?? strange stuff in this one, but held my attention

[Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually finish this book yet... it wasn't very enthralling.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is based on Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. It is an alright read but the narration didn't hold my attention and seemed somewhat choppy.

[Claudia]

interesting retelling of the Merchant of Venice. Enjoyed it quite a lot.