The Long Journey of Gracia Mendes

Birnbaum is professor emeritus of Hungarian and Central European literature and culture at UCLA, and visiting professor at Central European U. She traces the life of Gracia Mendes (1510-1568), a wealthy 16th-century widow of Portuguese origin, who, for many decades, practiced as a Christian convert while remaining a secret Jew. Despite strong anti-Semitic sentiments of the time, Mendes commanded an important position in European trade from businesses located in a succession of major cities. She eventually relocated in Turkey, where she could live openly as a Jew and patron of Jewish causes. No subject index. Distributed by Books International. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR