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Moorish Spain - help!

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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Tue January 6th, 2009, 11:38 am

Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree by Tariq Ali. I've not read it, but I have read and enjoyed The Book of Saladin by him.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

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Ludmilla
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Post by Ludmilla » Tue January 6th, 2009, 7:53 pm

[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]I agree the Kay book is interesting, though not directly relevant.

[/quote]

I don't know about that. If you've read both Irving's Tales of the Alhambra and Kay's Lions of Al-Rassan you'll find yourself nodding your head saying things such as, "Ah... so that's what inspired that plot strand and that's why Kay set it up that way..." Of course, this period in Spain's history is a goldmine for inspiring historicals. There's so much to cover, and it's a tangled web.

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Jack
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Post by Jack » Wed January 7th, 2009, 4:48 pm

[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]If you wouldn't mind, could you recommend a few of these.

I agree the Kay book is interesting, though not directly relevant.

And the Louis L'Amour book is to be avoided in my view...[/quote]


Why avoid the L'Amour?

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Jack
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Post by Jack » Wed January 7th, 2009, 5:27 pm

[quote=""laurtosky""]My sister and I have been searching for books on Moorish Spain, with no luck! I'd love to start with books set in the later periods at its cultural height. I'm hoping to find something set in or around Alhambra palace (something on Ferdinand and Isabel's lives there would interest me, also). I am also interested in the early Muslim caliphates, but I don't know if I'll be able to find fiction on that subject. Any suggestions? I can't believe how hard it's been to find anything!

Thank you in advance!![/quote]


Since you asked about Ferdinand and Isabella as well, there are a couple by Laurence Schoonover that you'll really enjoy.
The Queen's Cross- Very good telling of Ferdinand and Isabella and their triumphs and tradegies, professional and personal
The Prisoner of Tordesillas- the tragic story of their daughter and her descent into dementia after she loses her husbands
Key of Gold-a broader story that begins in Spain under Torquemada, then ranges out.

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sweetpotatoboy
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Post by sweetpotatoboy » Wed January 7th, 2009, 5:33 pm

[quote=""Jack""]Why avoid the L'Amour?[/quote]

Oh, I just found it ridiculously far-fetched, heavy-handed and with two-dimensional characterisations. Plus, he originally planned further books in the series but never wrote them. But a lot of people love it and it has a certain appeal as an OTT swashbuckler story, I suppose.

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Thu January 8th, 2009, 10:17 pm

In Spanish, these are some I can recommend:

Jesus Sanchez Adalid: El Mozarabe
Jesus Sancez Adalid: El Cautivo
Isabel Sebastian: La Vizigoda
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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Margaret
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Post by Margaret » Fri January 9th, 2009, 5:41 am

Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book traces the history of a Jewish prayer book back to its origin in medieval Seville. Jews were protected under medieval Muslim rule, including in Moorish Spain, and were driven out along with the Moors by Ferdinand and Isabella. People of the Book is about the interchanges between European Jews and Muslims through history from the Middle Ages into the present. It's very well written. I've reviewed it at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/People ... -Book.html.
Last edited by Margaret on Fri January 9th, 2009, 5:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Browse over 5000 historical novel listings (probably well over 5000 by now, but I haven't re-counted lately) and over 700 reviews at www.HistoricalNovels.info

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sweetpotatoboy
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Post by sweetpotatoboy » Fri January 9th, 2009, 9:13 am

[quote=""cw gortner""]In Spanish, these are some I can recommend:

Jesus Sanchez Adalid: El Mozarabe
Jesus Sancez Adalid: El Cautivo
Isabel Sebastian: La Vizigoda[/quote]

Many thanks. If I can get any of those at a reasonable cost here, I'll try them out.

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MLE (Emily Cotton)
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Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Fri January 9th, 2009, 4:03 pm

[quote=""Margaret""]Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book traces the history of a Jewish prayer book back to its origin in medieval Seville. Jews were protected under medieval Muslim rule, including in Moorish Spain, and were driven out along with the Moors by Ferdinand and Isabella. People of the Book is about the interchanges between European Jews and Muslims through history from the Middle Ages into the present. It's very well written. I've reviewed it at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/People ... -Book.html.[/quote]

Must correct a general misconception here -- The Moors were not expelled when the Jews were. The treaty for the surrender of Granada allowed them to keep their religion. That was changed later by Cardinal Cisneros in the city itself, but not in the treaty area of the Alpujarra, granted to the defeated monach Boabdil (Abu Abdullah XII). The expulsion came sixty years later, towards the end of the reign of Charles V, after the last major revolt by the Mudejars.

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MLE (Emily Cotton)
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Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
Location: California Bay Area

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Fri January 9th, 2009, 7:21 pm

Oops, I was a little early on the date, but the brain is turning into pudding. The final expulsion was under Philip III in 1609. Although religious toleration ended with the aforementioned revolt, which actually happened under Charles V's son Philip II in 1568.
this Wikipedia article has the particulars.
Please note that Wiki is what it is, by which I mean not always correct. I bet if you go to the Ferdinand and Isabella page, it could very well say that they expelled the Muslims -- which is how these inaccuracies get perpetuated. I know of one article that had a vociferous opponent of the Spanish Inquisition (Queen Isabella's confessor Hernando Talavera) listed as one of the supporters. Guilt by association, I suppose.

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