Historical FictionHistorical fiction always presents an author with dilemmas. If he does his work well it becomes difficult for the reader to tell where history leaves off and fiction begins. It is not my intention to distort history, so I would like to make clear which is historical and what has come from imagination.

Dialogue, of course is supposition, the author not being privy to actual conversations. Facts about the Spanish Inquisition and the Columbus voyage have been carefully researched and are true.

The expedition, as portrayed in this book, follows the actual itinerary described in Columbus' log.

The life of Don Isaac Abravanal is factual.

The only fictional characters in the novel are, Don Jacob DaPonte, his padre, Catherine, Riego, his family, Ricardo and a few unnamed minor characters. All others are historical and play their roles as accurately as I've been able to portray them.

Spain was the seat of the Golden Age of Moslem-Jewish civilization for centuries. From the year 711 Common Era (C.E.) when Arabs began to rule there, to 1212 C.E. when their influence began its decline, the world saw and envied a progressive period second to none in all history, on this North Western Mediterranean realm. As the Church gained power and influence over Spain, the brilliance of the "Golden Period" dimmed to a "Dark Age" so extreme that no Spaniard would in the centuries to come make any significant scientific contributions to the world's knowledge.

So outrageous was the influence of Church dogma over the kingdom that in 1305 C.E., Spain actually banned the study of all sciences. Any deliberation, investigation, contemplation, instruction on any discipline which might challenge, doubt or look upon Church doctrine as suspect, was, indeed considered heresy, punishable by death. Thus, the first victims of the Church Inquisitors were Christian men of science. This was not the case just in Spain. Galileo barely missed burning at the stake in Italy's Inquisition by renouncing publicly his scientific discoveries, going on to study in secret and silence.

Ironically, only Christians could commit heresy in the eyes of the Church, so it was only they who died by torch at the stake. Jews, Moslems, non-believers were exempt from the Inquisition until in later years the Church began to lose control and some non-Christians did fall prey to the savagery.

Hardest hit by the Inquisition were the Conversos or Marranos. Conversos were converts to Christianity. Never fully accepted by the Church which often forced or coerced them to accept salvation, they were often suspect and easily accused of heresy by their neighbors. Arrest and torture by the Inquisitors would usually bring about a "confession," sometimes by the youngest member of a family, the child's affirmation then condemning the entire family to the stake and flaming death.

Marranos were Jews who had been forced to convert but who never embraced Christianity. They in fact, continued to practice their Judaism in secret. These "Secret Jews" were given the name Marrano, the Spanish word for "swine." Discovery of their clandestine practices meant unquestioned death.

To regain better control of this salvation and slaughter, Spain and the Church in 1482, appointed all Inquisitional powers in the kingdom to one Thomas de Torquemada, to crush all heretical inclination from the land, wherever it lurked. For the next decade the black smoke and screams went heavenward as the torture chambers brought forth "confession after confession."

If the Church was looking forward to converting Jews to Christianity, she surely picked a poor way to win proselytes. It was quite obvious that the Conversos and Marranos were the most likely victims of the Inquisition. Even those who baptized out of a true belief in their new creed were more likely than not to die on a pyre.

For centuries, the Church had been frustrated by the Jews' steadfast resistance to accept Christianity; any Jew who gave up the security of his religion during the Inquisition would have to be insane. Finally dispirited by his failure to bring the Jews to "salvation" Thomas de Torquemada petitioned the Pope to let him expel the Jews from Spain, expressing his belief that they posed a clear threat to the Catholic faith.
The Pope refused!

Thomas de Torquemada then brought pressure upon Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to banish the heathens from Spanish soil. At first, they refused but his influence in the Spanish Church created such an uproar among the Christian majority of the royal couples' subjects that they relented.

~O.J.S.

A Books To Believe In's Top 10 List

Top 10 Best "Historical Fiction" Books

#10

The Scottish Thistle

Cindy Vallar

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Bonus

The Cartographer ~ 1492

Othniel J. Seiden
EJ Thornton

Historical Fiction

Reviews:
The Cartographer, 1492 by Othniel J. Seiden

As an historical fiction buff, I'm glad to see someone is writing good historical novels again. I hope Mr. Seiden continues along the path of this book. I can hardly wait to see his next masterpiece and if it is as controversial and thought provoking as this one, he will end up being a household name right along side of John Grisham.

The Cartographer, 1492 by Othniel J. Seiden

This book helped me understand the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition better than any history book ever did! Mr. Seiden's account of the Columbus Voyage (taken from Christopher Columbus' personal journal) and its hardships was a real eye-opener and a great read!

The Cartographer, 1492 is an historical fiction set whose characters are influenced by the religious prejudice of the Inquisition and the amazing means people back then practiced religious freedom when in many cases, it cost them everything they had.

With the backdrop of the Columbus Voyage and some curious behavior of Columbus himself (taken straight from Columbus' own journal), the author begs some very controversial and interesting questions about the man who discovered America.

338 Pages
Published by Books To Believe In
Featured on: Boomer Book Series

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The Isle of Stone

It is a tale of two cities--the legendary duel between haughty, democratic Athens and brutal, unbeaten Sparta. After seven years of bloody conflict, a barren island in a remote corner of Greece becomes the stage for what promises to become a second Thermopylae. Four hundred Spartan soldiers are cut off by enemy ships on a narrow strip of land, starving, without supplies, yet sworn to uphold their indomitable heritage. Meanwhile, all around them, the powerful Athenian Navy masses for the inevitable assault. As the war of nerves wears on, Spartan nobles and Athenian demagogues maneuver in the background--and two estranged Spartan brothers serve together for the first time. The eldest, Antalcidas, is a legendary warrior hobbled by a damaging secret. His brother Epitadas is envied, popular, and cruel. Together they must overcome a lifetime of hostility to survive the battle of their lives.

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Historical fiction always presents an author with dilemmas. If he does his work well it becomes difficult for the reader to tell where history leaves off and fiction begins. It is not my intention to distort history, so I would like to make clear which is historical and what has come from imagination.

Dialogue, of course is supposition, the author not being privy to actual conversations. Facts about the Spanish Inquisition and the Columbus voyage have been carefully researched and are true.

The expedition, as portrayed in this book, follows the actual itinerary described in Columbus' log.

The life of Don Isaac Abravanal is factual.

The only fictional characters in the novel are, Don Jacob DaPonte, his padre, Catherine, Riego, his family, Ricardo and a few unnamed minor characters. All others are historical and play their roles as accurately as I've been able to portray them.

Top 10 Best "Historical Fiction" Books

The Scottish Thistle

Cindy Vallar

Books

The Cartographer ~ 1492

Othniel J. Seiden
EJ Thornton

Historical Fiction

Secrets to Creating Passive Income

EJ Thornton and John Craig

Books

The Remnant - The Jewish Resistance in WWII

Othniel J. Seiden

Books

Taj

Sandra Wilson
Lori O'Keefe

Books

The Vanishing Point

Mary Sharratt

Books

The Green Coat

Rosemary McDunn

Books

1919 Misfortune's End

Paula Phelan

Books

Sarah's Daughter

Ruth Bass

Books

Storyteller

G. R. Grove

Books

The Isle of Stone

The Isle of Stone

Nicholas Nicastro

Historical Fiction

Katherine

Anya Seton
Philippa Gregory

Books

This Top 10 Historical Fiction information, is brought to you by:

© Copyright 2009, Books To Believe In™
Unless otherwise credited, all opinions expressed belong to EJ Thornton,
owner of Books To Believe In publishing company.
All rights reserved.

Top 10 Best "Historical Fiction" Books

The Scottish Thistle

Cindy Vallar

Books

The Cartographer ~ 1492

Othniel J. Seiden EJ Thornton

Historical Fiction

Secrets to Creating Passive Income

EJ Thornton and John Craig

Books

The Remnant - The Jewish Resistance in WWII

Othniel J. Seiden

Books

Taj

Sandra Wilson Lori O'Keefe

Books

The Vanishing Point

Mary Sharratt

Books

The Green Coat

Rosemary McDunn

Books

1919 Misfortune's End

Paula Phelan

Books

Sarah's Daughter

Ruth Bass

Books

Storyteller

G. R. Grove

Books

The Isle of Stone

The Isle of Stone

Nicholas Nicastro

Historical Fiction

Katherine

Anya Seton Philippa Gregory

Books

This Top 10 Historical Fiction information, is brought to you by:

© Copyright 2009, Books To Believe In™Unless otherwise credited, all opinions expressed belong to EJ Thornton, owner of Books To Believe In publishing company.All rights reserved.

Othniel J. Seiden
EJ Thornton

Sandra Wilson
Lori O'Keefe

Anya Seton
Philippa Gregory

© Copyright 2009, Books To Believe In™
Unless otherwise credited, all opinions expressed belong to EJ Thornton,
owner of Books To Believe In publishing company.
All rights reserved.