Abigail of Venice — Leigh Russell

A sixteenth-century Jewish woman flees persecution and an abusive marriage in this historical saga from “a brilliant talent” (Jeffery Deaver).

When soldiers attack the inhabitants of a Jewish ghetto in sixteenth-century Lithuania, Abigail manages to escape both the attack and her abusive husband, Reuven. She travels over land and sea to Venice, where she settles in another ghetto. Believing Reuven is dead, Abigail falls in love with her widowed neighbour, Daniel. But before Abigail and Daniel announce their betrothal, her violent husband reappears.

Reuven is arrested for drunken brawling and sentenced to slavery in the galleys. Abigail hopes she has finally seen the last of him, but he returns to Venice, and Abigail fears she will never be free of him . . .

From the Dagger Award finalist and acclaimed author of the Geraldine Steel novels, Abigail of Venice is an engrossing story of forbidden love that explores domestic violence, religious persecution, the Inquisition, and witch burning against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent periods of European history.

Praise for the novels of Leigh Russell:

“Tense and compelling.” -- Publishers Weekly

“Unmissable.” -- Lee Child