Learner: The Witch of Cologne (2005)
The first third of Tobsha Learner‘s historical fiction, The Witch of Cologne, contains enough references to Kabbalah to grant a mention in this blog. The latter part of the books contains less though.
Here is the beginning of the Publishers’ Weekly review:
In a sensuous 17th-century saga set in German Catholic Cologne, Learner (Quiver) transports readers to a time when studying the ancient Kabbalah could prove deadly for a young Jewish midwife. Ruth bas Elazar Saul is the headstrong daughter of the chief rabbi of Deutz, Cologne’s Jewish ghetto. She undertakes the forbidden course of mystical study, her Sephardic mother’s legacy, before absconding to Amsterdam to escape an arranged marriage. There, Ruth acquires the contemporary midwifery skills she will combine with her sacred learning, and upon her return to Cologne she delivers wealthy burghers’ babies using new lifesaving methods, earning a reputation for more than medical genius.
The book at the publisher’s site
Thank you Jo for your review that pointed my attention to the book.
