Woman with a Secret
DONA GRACIA
by Aaron Nommaz, #1 bestselling in Turkey
Dona Gracia sweeps a reader up into an important, but long-overlooked corner of the 16th century (including Jewish history) with all the drama of those times. Andrée Aelion Brooks (Author and Journalist)
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Chapters
Kindness, evil, conviction, bigotry, hatred, war, peace, loot- ing, nomadism, resistance...
Chapter 1
Through the Generations
Chapter 1
Through the Generations
I am Dona Gracia. To many, I am known as Signora Mendes. I was born in a land called Portugal 1500 years after Jesus.
Chapter 2
Escape from Lisbon
Chapter 2
Escape from Lisbon
...
Chapter 3
Wedding and Arrest
Chapter 3
Wedding and Arrest
...
Chapter 4
Eyes on Reyna
Chapter 4
Eyes on Reyna
...
Chapter 5
Betrayal
Chapter 5
Betrayal
...
Chapter 6
Entering Istanbul
Chapter 6
Entering Istanbul
...
Chapter 7
Harem
Chapter 7
Harem
...
Chapter 8
Wedding
Chapter 8
Wedding
...
Chapter 9
Sultan, The Magnificent
Chapter 9
Sultan, The Magnificent
...
Chapter 10
Death
Chapter 10
Death
...
Chapter 11
The Doctor
Chapter 11
The Doctor
...
Chapter 12
The Inquisition, Again
Chapter 12
The Inquisition, Again
...
Chapter 13
Synagogue and Yeshiva
Chapter 13
Synagogue and Yeshiva
...
Chapter 14
Secret News
Chapter 14
Secret News
...
Reviews
Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Jewish
- andrée aelion brooks
- halil inalcık
- ilber ortaylı
An historical novel is often more powerful than history itself. Being able to visualize scenes and individuals that can only be described in outline in an annotated history, helps a reader feel and see what it might have been like to be that person hundreds of years ago. Congratulations to Nommaz for taking on this task. It sweeps a reader up into an important, but long-overlooked corner of 16th century history (including Jewish history); with all the drama of those times.
Under special conditions European Jews and the Ottomans collaborated and supported each other against Crusading Christians. Centuries of coexistence and intermingled exchange of experiences has made Jews and Turks a closely knit family.
This Jewish family, as one of the dominating bankers of the 16th Century, suffering heavily under the laws of the Inquisition, had close relations with the leading European Kings and Ottoman Sultans, ending their venture in the Ottoman lands with whom they enjoyed strong mutual trust and respect relations, well tested over time. The Sultan appreciated their deep erudition and knowledge. The greatest surprise is that the Khalifa of all Muslims and Sultan of a huge Empire made a Duke of the Island of Naxos and the Archipelao of 17 Egean islands of the famous Jewish banker, Joseph Nasi, son in law of Dona Gracia. Not everyone in the Sublime Porte befriended the family but the Sultan always stood bye them. Not only is the book written by Aaron Nommaz rich in well researched historical facts but also is so absorbing…
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About the Writer
After a lifetime founding and operating electronics businesses, Aaron Nommaz researched and wrote three historical novels that were published to considerable acclaim in the Turkish language.
The first, focusing on the life of Dona Gracia Mendes, has been translated into English.
During the Inquisition in the 16th century, Dona Gracia was one of Europe’s wealthiest women, a Jewish Portuguese convert who dedicated her life to saving Jews from the fires of the Inquisition.
She made important contributions to the Ottoman Empire by establishing her residence in Istanbul.
The author graduated from Sussex University, UK and has a Masters degree in electronic engineering from UC Berkeley.