Jewish Historical Fiction discussion

I have been a long time fan of India Edgehill - she may have been the very first author I ever wrote, and this was a long time back when the world was less small, and one couldn't just do that. I love historical fiction, but this is a whole "nother" category for me, that I call "midrash-y" works, and I just love them. Along the lines of the Red Tent, authors take lesser known folks from the Bible, or other parts of incredibly early Judeo history, and try to tell their stories, and perhaps fill in some blanks. India Edgehill has written Wisdom's Daughter, Delilah, and Queenmaker, one of those was on Solomon and Sheba, one clearly on Delilah, and the last I cannot remember, but I want to say the wife or daughter of King Saul? These three were amongst my favorite books I ever read, and so I looked to Game of Queens with great anticipation.

Game of Queens is the story of Vashti and Esther, who figure prominently in Megillus Esther, one of the five extra scrolls associated with the Torah. These women, along with King Ahasuerus and the wicked Haman, figure prominently in the story of Purim, a holiday Jews just celebrated this weekend. One of the central holiday rituals and mandates, is to re-tell the story, to read the entire Megillus aloud, so that everyone can hear it. When the wicked evil guy's name shows up in the tale, adults and kids alike use triggers to make a whole lot of noise. Its organized booing. I just learned Saturday night, that we make noise to cover the name, but that we actually don't shy away from saying it. Rather than casting Haman into the original "He Who Shall Not be Named,", we say his name and then emerge with rapturous protest - why? because there will always be aggression, hate, and evil in the world. We cannot ignore the truth of that. We can merely raise our voices to do something to point it out and stand in protest together. Kids (and adults) dress up as the characters in the story, (its become the Jewish version of Halloween in general these days.). Kids make crowns, and we eat triangular shaped pastries with various fruits inside, apricot, prune, poppy. We are told in Hebrew School that this is because the evil Wicked Human had a triangular shaped hat. I also learned this year, that this is also not true. (None of this I learned from the book.). Its because Haman's Ears had a triangular shape. No joke - his ears. Making this delicacy, Hamantaschen, is one of the ways we transform evil into something delicious. Now, back to the book.

Well, first I want to say that to my knowledge, no one has ever tried to write a historical fiction novel on these two characters, and this is where India Edgehill shines, bringing these characters to life. Vashti and Esther are amongst our very first feminists. And at a time when no such thing could have possibly existed. Little girls have looked up to them, and modern day re-tellings absolutely cast the story in an extremely feminist light. These women have dignity, self-respect, and great faith. And between Esther and the King, its actually a love story. One that shaped our history. The story of Purim is one in an extremely long line of: They tried to kill us; we survived, lets eat. But the story is so much more than that. Its about all the coincidences, that show us that God was hidden the entire time, that allow us to see a hidden hand in our outcomes. Although God is never mentioned in Purim, and not mentioned at all in the novel either. Its a story of coincidences, faith, even prophecy and dreams have a role. So in this story, as well as the novel, the women have a direct role, in shaping their outcomes. This is why we call them the first feminists.

I loved it - I loved every word, and the nuances that were filled in that made the story more full and vibrant. I spent two weeks in early Persia, in Shushan, but it was well worth the long stay. And I loved that as I had taken the book from the library and the 9 given weeks were due, that I ended up reading it right over Purim. I thought of it as my special homage to the story we re-tell. It was great. There were some additional characters, and a bit of literary license that made the story fuller and hang together, such as the addition of Daniel the Dream Maker, Queen Amestris, the King's Mother, and Hegai, the Cheif's Eunuch. And the ending, that got re-envisioned and re-imagined, well, I just loved it! What did I love most of all about the book? It was the women, Even Summat, Astrologer to the Stars, a woman beloved by two men. I loved both Vashti and Esther, and I came to treasure the relationship between them. They were "sisters" and friends, each a part of the tapestry that was woven. The tale was engaging, whether you know this story or not. I hung on what was to happen, even if I hadn't heard the actual tale a million times. This epic story, and love story changed worlds, and this week it changed mine.

Brava India, you did it again. You brought two ancient women and an ancient story to life and gave it breath. You delighted me as you always do. What a thrilling beautiful ride. Whomever shall you pick next?

Please note that the author is India Edghill, not "Edgehill." With online databases being so fussy about spelling, it's important to be correct so someone can easily find a specific book or author online. I love it when people use the Goodreads links, like I just did, as it makes it simple to learn more. That's a major reason I use Goodreads.

Thanks Maggie, I'd like to promote the author correctly. And by the way, for anyone whose reading, Maggie Anton is an equally shining star for depicting early women in midrashy style. Loved them all, but particularly the Enchantress, which is a sequel to Rav Hisda's Daughter. Please correct me if I am mistaken.

Hi Amy, Just a "side-note". I have found there to be a "fine line" with projecting our "modern" values and belief systems onto characters from periods of history. Even calling a woman from so long ago a feminist is a projection and a fantasy. I heard Anita Diamont speak once at a book talk and she started her talk saying her book, The Red Tent, is her own fantasy and is purely fiction and is not necessarily historical fiction. They were historical characters and THAT'S IT! (Maggie, you and I discussed this topic once on another goodreads discussion site.) If there is a tremendous amount of information about the belief systems during certain periods of history, then an author might be able to write about those characters. Sometimes, I want to just read the story and the commentaries about our ancestors and project my own learning from the story. If the writing and character development is well done, then I just read the book for enjoyment and do not think of it as historical fiction, i.e. The Dovekeepers (which I loved). By your description, it sounds like this author is an excellent author and that is why I would read her book. Thanks.