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Qesher Book Club: "The Gallery of Beauties"

Tue, Sep 10

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Webinar

Join us as we partner with Qesher for another episode of the Qesher Book Club with author Nina Wachsman!

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Qesher Book Club:  "The Gallery of Beauties"
Qesher Book Club:  "The Gallery of Beauties"

Time & Location

Sep 10, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT

Webinar

About the event

About this talk

Venice, 1612. Two very different women, a notorious courtesan and a Talmudic  scholar, are brought together by an artist when they pose for a "Gallery  of Beauties," forming a relationship neither of them anticipated.

Conflicted  about her past, Belladonna finds herself drawn to Diana, the rabbi's  widowed daughter and has ambitions for her future, but only if Diana  will discard her origins and her traditions. While Diana is torn by  indecision, Belladonna feels threatened, as one by one, the subjects of  the portraits are poisoned. The two women must rely on their wits and  each other to avoid becoming the next victims, as they confront the  powerful men who seek to control them and Venice.

Nina  writes with an innate understanding of Venice, the ghetto, and the  customs of people and events there, both past and present.

The Gallery of Beauties  was nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel, and a Silver Falchion for Best Historical Novel.

The  book has two sequels; "The Courtesan's Secret" follows a converso  courtesan who, hiding in the Ghetto, learns about Jewish life and  heritage. "The Courtesan's Pirate," to be published on September 3,  follows Jews escaping the Old World for religious freedom in the New  World, facing new dangers along the way.

You can read more and order the book here:

https://www.amazon.com/Gallery-Beauties-Venice-Mystery/dp/1685121055

About the Author

Nina Wachsman is a descendant of a chief rabbi of Venice and her family's  Sabbath candlesticks were supposedly sourced from the Ghetto (rumored to  have been pawned there by a nobleman). The family connection and her  study of art at Parsons School of Design spurs her to visit Venice every  two years for the Art Biennale, which is a World's Fair of Art.

After reading the autobiography of Rabbi Leon di Modena, a rabbi, scholar,  teacher, poet, playwright and compulsive gambler, Nina was inspired to  write a series of historical suspense novels set in Renaissance Venice.  Her extensive research for the novels led to some interesting  discoveries about the Jews of Venice, and the integration of Venetian  and Jewish culture.

When  she is not writing her novels, Nina runs a digital health company  specializing in connecting people with rare diseases (some which are  prevalent in Ashkenazi and Persian Jews) to clinical research.

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Jewish Unity Through Diversity Institute is fiscally sponsored by SAMI - Sephardic American Mizrahi Initiative.

To learn more about SAMI go to www.samiglobal.org

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