Isabela's Way
A Novel
by Barbara Stark-Nemon
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Pub Date Sep 16 2025 | Archive Date Not set
Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, for She Writes Press | She Writes Press
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Description
In early-seventeenth-century Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany, dangers are plentiful—especially for those of Jewish heritage. Non-Catholics have been expelled from Spain, and the Inquisition has come to Portugal to impose its prohibitions. Fourteen-year-old Isabela, an obedient “New Christian” with a talent for needlework, believes she has nothing to fear from the Inquisition. But when a mysterious woman arrives with a message from Isabela’s traveling father, the girl must leave her home and embroider her way along the clandestine network of sanctuaries created to conduct Conversos, or secret Jews, to safety.
A host of supporters and spirit guides, as well as one special young man, assist Isabela as she escapes the Inquisitors and makes her way across countries and cultures. As she travels, she learns of the danger and importance of her work, with its coded symbols, and is shocked to discover her family’s true origins.
In this enthralling coming-of-age tale of resistance, love, and danger, Isabela employs her talent and fierce determination to find her way despite the powerful forces that buffet her at every turn.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
“ . . . powerfully evokes the era of the Inquisition in Portugal and the courage of the conversos who lived between faiths as they risked their lives to make their way to freedom. Both informative and deeply moving, this is a book that makes a lasting contribution to Sephardic literature.”—RUTH BEHAR, author of Across So Many Seas
"Stark-Nemon . . . handles things expertly . . . . Intolerance will always be with humanity, but so will heroes willing to fight that scourge. A well-told story with all of the requisite narrow escapes and memorable characters." —KIRKUS REVIEWS
“. . . as elegantly embroidered as the linens that Isabela weaves. Reminiscent of Rachel Kadish’s best seller The Weight of Ink, Isabela’s Way is a meticulously researched and elegantly written novel of secret histories, fierce determination, and ultimately love.”—MARY MORRIS, author of Gateway to the Moon and The Red House
“ . . . This moving, deeply researched tale has the pace of a thriller, all while examining questions of loyalty, love, and truth.”—REBECCA D’HARLINGUE, author of The Lines Between Us and The Map Colorist
“Poignant, riveting, historically accurate—a gem!”—GENIE MILGROM, author of My Fifteen Grandmothers, writer and producer of Between the Stone and the Flower- the Duality of the Conversos
“I love this book!”—PAMELA GRATH, bookseller
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781647429645 |
| PRICE | $17.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
