Coming Soon: “Mapmaker’s Daughter”
/ Press Release / // Sourcebooks //
Praise for the “Mapmaker’s Daughter”
“Laurel Corona authoritatively gives the Jewish oppression in fifteenth century Spain a human face and heart in Amalia Riba … Peopled with historic figures, her story soars from loneliness to love, tenderness to horror, and from despair to courage. Sentences of startling, hard-won wisdom leap from the page and command our memories not to forget them.”
–Susan Vreeland, NYT bestselling author of Luncheon of the Boating Party
“A close look at the great costs and greater rewards of being true to who you really are. … A delight.” –Margaret George, NYT bestselling author of Elizabeth I
“I love THE MAPMAKER’S DAUGHTER: its compelling, very human characters; its exciting story of exile and love; the heart-rending look it provides into the trials and tribulations of being Jewish and its empowering message of being true to oneself.” –Sherry Jones, author of The Jewel of the Medina and Four Sisters, All Queens.
“Well-researched, evocative, and a pleasure to read” —Mitchell James Kaplan, award-winning author of BY FIRE, BY WATER
About the Book
In 1492, Amalia sits in an empty room, waiting for soldiers to take her away. A converso forced to hide her religion from the outside world, she is the last in a long line of Jewish mapmakers, whose services to the court were so valuable that their religion had been tolerated by Muslims and Christians alike. But times have changed. When King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella conquer Granada, the last holdout of Muslim rule in Spain, they issue an order expelling all Jews who refused to convert to Christianity.
As Amalia looks back on her eventful life, we witness history in the making—the bustling court of Henry the Navigator, great discoveries in science and art, the fall of Muslim Granada, the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition. And we watch as Amalia decides whether to relinquish what’s left of her true self, or risk her life preserving it.
Exploring an under-published period in history, “The Mapmaker’s Daughter” is a sweeping saga of faith, family and identity that shows how the past shapes our map of life.
About the Author
Laurel Corona is a frequent speaker on Jewish life and literature, and is member of the Brandeis National Committee, the National Council of Jewish Women, and Hadassah. She has taught at San Diego State University, the University of California at San Diego, and San Diego City College, where she is a professor of English and Humanities. She lives in San Diego. Website: www.laurelcorona.com
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