The Turquoise Ring

(This review was first published in The Historical Novels Review, Issue 33, August 2005 ISSN: 1471-7492) "The Merchant Of Venice" is arguably Shakespeare's most controversial and lyrical work. The 16th century tale of vengeance and religious intolerance in Venice among rival merchants was recently made into a film, and now comes to us reinvented as a novel titled The Turquoise Ring by Shakespearean scholar and author, Grace Tiffany ("My Father had a Daughter" and "Will.") Told from the viewpoint of five women - three of whom are featured in the original play - this entertaining, and at times transcendent, novel employs the symbol of a turquoise ring made in Toledo to weave together the stories of the brave and doomed Rachel, her foolish daughter Jessica, the clever courtesan Nerrisa, the eccentric heiress Portia, and her clairvoyant Moorish servant, Xanthe. The middle three women will be familiar to Shakespeare aficionados, though such knowledge is not necessary in order to enjoy Tiffany's feminist construction of the Renaissance woman's plight, as well as her ode to the revered master playwright's talent for finely honed characterization and rambunctious dialogue. Though the novel does offer up the now-infamous revenge of the Jewish money lender Shylock (here, recast as Shiloh, who flees the Spanish Inquisition and martyrdom of his beloved wife, only to find himself captive to Venetian hypocrisy and the betrayal of his own daughter) it does not overshadow the plot - a refreshing and intelligent choice, which allows Tiffany to frame her overall narrative instead with a haunting tale of lost love and discerning exile. While Jessica, Nerrisa, and Portia give us a diverse, sometimes amusing, but always sympathetic depiction of how women sought survival in an often callous age, it is Rachel's poetic start and Xanthe's sage ending that truly elevate this daring, if uneven, interpretation of a classic stage tragedy.

Author Grace Tiffany is a Renaissance scholar who in recent years has written a few excellent historical novels involving William Shakespeare, his life and work. She is a professor of Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama at Western Michigan University and has taught Shakespeare at Fordham University, the University of New Orleans and the University of Notre Dame, where she obtained her doctorate. "The Turquoise Ring" is a retelling of Shakespeare's controversial play, "The Merchant of Venice, from the point of view of five women - most of them characters in the great Bard's original work. Given Dr. Tiffany's background and literary talents, I cannot think of a better person to tell this intriguing tale. A young Spanish Jew from Toledo, Shiloh ben Gozan, flees Spain and the Inquisition in 1568, carrying his infant daughter, Jessica, with him. His beloved wife Leah was brutally tortured and murdered because she refused to renounce her Jewish faith before the Holy Brotherhood. The only possession Shiloh carries with him, besides some food and goat's milk for the baby, is a turquoise ring his wife had given him upon their betrothal. He travels to Venice to live openly as a Jew and to raise Jessica. However, conditions aren't much better for his people in this new home. They are forced to live in a small ghetto, and wear badges and other identifying symbols of their religion when they leave the restricted area. Although, Venice's economy and trade flourish with the influx of Jewish refugees from Spain, they are still forbidden to own land, and the only work available to them is through usury. In Venice Shiloh's precious turquoise ring is stolen and passes through many hands, effecting all who own it. The narrative begins with Elizabeta Santa Leocadia de la Cerda's story. Her mother Serafina, (originally called Sarah), was a newly baptized Catholic, a Jewess who converted, (called a converso or marrano), and her father an established Christian hidalgo, a wealthy nobleman. Many marranos continued to practice the Jewish religion in secret, although they attended mass regularly and took Holy Communion. Serafina actually did renounce her Judaism and tried to become a true Christian, until she became disillusioned with both Catholicism and her marriage. She told Elizabeta, before she died, "The new faith is as hollow as the old. It brought me only wealth and bitterness....and a husband who wanted forgiveness every night. Forgiveness to keep on sinning." Unlike her mother, Elisabeta is not materialistic, nor does social class and position matter to her. She gives up her wealth, noble family name and a life of privilege, to return to her mother's family and marry Shiloh ben Gozan, the man she loves. She takes the Hebrew name Leah. Jessica, daughter of Leah and Shiloh, (called Shylock in Venice), is unhappy with the restrictions of life in the ghetto. Unlike her mother, who died when she was born, she is a superficial, spoiled girl, not interested in learn

This book is amazing--surely the best of Grace Tiffany's three wonderful novels. She retells The Merchant of Venice in a way that is completely true to Shakespeare, yet also a new story with a new perspective--that of five women from the play, all connected in some way with a mysterious turquoise ring. The characters are rich and complex, and the dialogue is fluid; Tiffany's compassion and wit shine through, at times making me laugh out loud. The story is at once tragic and hopeful, and one that is very hard to put down once you've begun reading.

This book is a treasure--and not for the reasons I expected when I picked it up. As other reviewers have noted, it is indeed an expert elaboration of the structure and spirit of Shakespeare (in particular, The Merchant of Venice) and a vivid, detailed portrait of the Renaissance period (especially as regards the joys and dangers of living as a Jew). Yet the great strength of the book lies in the ways Tiffany uses these foundational elements to create characters that, for me, are among the most memorable I have encountered in my reading of fiction. My two favorites are Leah and Shiloh. Leah is young, tentative, joyful--then stalwart and loyal as her faith is tested under unbelievable circumstances. Shylock, the (in)famous moneylender, is here recast as a romantic, complex character whose love for Leah is powerful and tragic. Shiloh/Shylock suffers, but the circular narrative Tiffany has created gently offers him--at what should be "the end"--a sweet promise of new beginnings. This promise is so carefully rooted in all the details of Shiloh's history that it brought tears to my eyes. I cannot remember the last time I found the conclusion of a book so intensely satisfying.

In 1567 Toledo, Spain in the forbidden Jewish Quarter, seventeen years old Leah buys the odd shaped turquoise ring from medal shopkeeper Julian del Rei though doing so means risking her maternal religious background. She gives the ring to her beloved twenty-year-old Shiloh ben Gozon as a token of their love. However, not long afterward she is betrayed. In 1568 a still stunned Simon decides that hiding his Jewish heritage and beliefs from the Spanish Inquisition remains risky and he wants his baby daughter to grow up safe yet overtly Jewish. Simon flees Spain taking his infant Jessica with him to live as a merchant in Venice. Of all his possessions he smuggles out of Spain, he prizes most the ring that his beloved Leah gave him. In Venice, someone steals his precious ring that he planned to one day give to Jessica. As he struggles to regain what he considers a family heirloom that reminds him to never forget, Shiloh ends up in court battling his most acrimonious business competitor. Though the review above focuses on Simon, in fact Shakespearean scholar Grace Tiffany retells The Merchant of Venice through the perspectives of five women from the play (Leah, Jessica, Nerissa the maidservant; rich heiress Portia, and Spanish exile Xanthe). Each tells quite a tale related to the ring and Simon. Readers will appreciate this superb rendition that provides a powerful look at sixteenth century Spain and Venice by the chutzpah rewriting of The Merchant of Venice. Fans will seek previous historical fiction from a delightfully entreating author whose works, MY FATHER HAD A DAUGHTER: JUDITH SHAKESPEARE'S TALE and WILL, provide terrific insight into the life and times of William Shakespeare. Harriet Klausner