By Alison Bass
REBECCA of IVANHOE
Twelfth-century England has become too dangerous for Jews, especially the beautiful Jewish healer, Rebecca Manasses, who has been rescued by Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe from being burned alive as a witch.
Rebecca and her father, Isaac, make the difficult decision to flee to Spain to settle in Toledo’s Jewish quarter. There Rebecca builds a thriving practice as a healer. Her reputation reaches the ears of Rachel Esra, known as La Fermosa, the Jewish mistress of Alfonso VIII, the King of Castile and Leon. Rebecca becomes Rachel’s healer and friend, and through Rachel, Rebecca meets a handsome Jewish trader who helps her and her family during anti-Jewish riots fomented by Church officials in Toledo.
This gripping sequel to Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe brings to life a fascinating chapter in medieval Spain through Rebecca’s journey to escape the growing persecution of Jews in England, and her efforts to save her family during a tumultuous time in Spain when the Moors and the Christians battled for control of the country.
Publication Date: November 19, 2024
Journalist, Professor, Author
Alison Bass
Alison Bass was a long-time medical and science writer for The Boston Globe. A series Bass wrote for the Globe on psychiatry was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in the Public Service category. Bass has received a number of other journalism awards for her work.
Bass is the author of two critically acclaimed nonfiction books, Getting Screwed, Sex Workers and the Law and Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and A Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial, which received the prestigious National Association of Science Writers’ Science in Society Award. The film rights for Side Effects were optioned in 2016.
Alison Bass
Latest Updates
Rebecca of Ivanhoe: Wise woman, healer, witch?
In Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, Rebecca is portrayed as an almost magical healer who has special ointments that can rid the body of infection and cure all kinds of ailments. When Ivanhoe, just back from the Crusades and disguised as a Spanish knight, is badly wounded...
How historical reality shaped Rebecca of Ivanhoe
Near the end of his classic tale, Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott mentions that Rebecca, the healer rescued by Ivanhoe, and her father are fleeing to Spain. Even though Ivanhoe saved Rebecca from being burned alive as a witch, she no longer feels safe in England. So she and...
Was Rebecca Gratz the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott’s Rebecca in Ivanhoe?
When I started writing Rebecca of Ivanhoe, I had no idea where Sir Walter Scott got the inspiration for the character of Rebecca, the beautiful and spirited Jewish healer who is rescued from a hideous death by the knight Ivanhoe in Scott's 1819 novel. It wasn't until...
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