Remember Me Not centers around a Jewish healer from medieval Milan who travels to treat the dying King Henry IV and finds herself drawn into court politics, religious prejudice, illness, grief, and a life of forced enclosure as an anchoress. What inspired you to write this story? 

Three books ago, I wrote the historical novel, Expulsion, which is about the forced removal of the Spanish Jews (Sephardim) in 1492.Their choices were dismal: conversion or the loss of their homeland or execution. But, I always wondered if all the Spanish Jews had really followed the decree, or did some stay and disguise themselves, concealing who they were. The idea prompted my wanting to write another expulsion story, this one set in England, in 1290; the first-ever expulsion of Jews from a European country. My research led me to the Domus Conversorum – House of Converts located in London – which offered converted medieval Jews, who were destitute, a way to survive. At the same time, I learned about anchorholds – tiny hermit cells for devout Catholic women (anchoreses) set adjacent to churches. These discoveries were the features of my story and at the same time posed a conundrum. How would I get a young Jewish woman from Italy to come to England – where Jews were not allowed – and accept conversion along with a life sealed away from the world forever?

Gracia is both a skilled healer and a woman navigating extraordinary danger. What qualities did you most want readers to see in her? 

I wanted readers to see a strong, determined, and educated woman, and realize that in Gracia’s time, that was not enough. Society, the church, the law, attitudes, superstition, ignorance, and tradition was set against a woman from the moment of her birth. For without a man by her side or at least the dignity of widowhood, women like Gracia would most likely falter. It is my hope that readers will consider the times they live in and wonder if conditions have improved for women? Or, like Gracia, is the world still stacked against them? 

Were there any historical misconceptions you hoped this novel would challenge? 

I write the stories that history has largely forgotten, and it is the resurrection of these tales, I hope, will dispel the myths, misconceptions, and fairy tales readers have heard and consider factual. An example of this is the present rise of antisemitism in the UK. I want readers to know that this is not a modern phenomenon. The prejudice has been around for centuries. The truth is hard and sometimes hard to accedpt, but it also brings light and clarifies the world we live in.

How do you hope readers reflect on the themes of faith, identity, and belonging after finishing the book? 

A common theme in most of my historical novels is the experience of “the other” and how they navigate their lives when confronted by a world set against them. I want my readers to see that although faith was important to Gracia Sabot so was survival, and she should not be castigated for choosing life. In other words, I’m asking my readers, put yourself in Gracia’s shoes. What would you do in her place?

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