Nobody Expects [books about] the Spanish Inquisition
One day recently, a customer asked for historical fiction set during the Spanish Inquisition.
I found some titles for him but after he left I realized that I did not take the opportunity to quote the famous Monty Python sketch.
So, to redeem myself, whether you expected it or not, here are some novels about the Spanish Inquisition.
Adult:
 |
 |
 |
 |
Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
• Audiobook
• eBook
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Men connected to the Inquisition hire swordsman Captain Diego Alatriste to attack two English travellers but he finds that the circumstances are more complicated than he has been told.
The Constant Princess by Phillippa Gregory
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Catalina, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, witnessed their crusade against non-Christians in Spain; her own devout Christianity has a dramatic impact on history as she becomes Henry VIII's first wife.
The Inquisitor's Wife by Jeanne Kalogridis
• eBook
Marisol Garcia is a crypto-Jew but she is safe from persecution as a result of her marriage to an Inquisition lawyer. However while witnessing the treatment of Jews, she begins to wonder if she should give up her security and fight for her people.
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
The second daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand, Juana's entire life was shaped by her childhood during the Inquisition.
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Mapmaker's Daughter by Laurel Corona
• eBook
Amanda Cresques, daughter of famed cartographer Abraham Cresques, tells the story of her life as a crypto-Jew during the Inquisition.
The Queen's Vow: a Novel of Isabella of Castile by C.W. Gortner
• eAudiobook
• eBook
The story of the controversial Queen Isabella, who, with her husband Ferdinand and Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada, presided over the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
A rare book expert is assigned to analyse the Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the oldest surviving illuminated Jewish texts. The sweeping historical epic traces the book's journey from present day to its origin in the 15th century.
Purity of Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte
• ebook
Captain Alatriste is enlisted to rescue a girl with Jewish ancestry from the convent/brothel where she is being held prisoner. Unfortunately, the raid goes horribly wrong. The second book in the Captain Alatriste series set in 17th century Spain.
Teen:
 |
 |
Incantation by Alice Hoffman
• eBook
Estrella is unaware that her family are Marranos–Jews who have publicly converted to Christianity but covertly practice Judaism. As the Inquisition intensifies soldiers arrive in the village, suspicion rises and neighbours begin turning against each other.
Last Song by Eva Wiseman
• eBook
When Isabel's paren'ts insist that she marry a man she despises, she learns about her family's Jewish heritage.
4 thoughts on “Nobody Expects [books about] the Spanish Inquisition”
How about some novels set during the Red Terror during the Spanish Civil War, which claimed more lives in five years than the Inquisition did in three centuries?
Excellent Fiction List, Margaret. Thank you. The Spanish Inquisition was a horrid time in world history. Can you recommend any non-fiction works? They would be especially pertinent, and put modern-day terrorist atrocities into considerable perspective!
I’ve just finished reading God’s jury : the Inquisition and the making of the modern world by Cullen Murphy. Not only does it present a highly readable and informative book on The Inquisition against the Cathars and the later Spanish and Roman versions but also points out that the structure and bureaucracy of the Inquisition provided a useful template for modern totalitarian government such as Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union.
Even Canada gets a mention. The Inquisitors would always hand over their victims to the Civil authorities for execution not wanting blood on their consecrated hands. The modern equivalent is called “extraordinary rendition” as when the US with the collusion of Canada handed over Maher Arar to be tortured and imprisoned by the Syrians.
While I am not an historian I don’t believe it is accurate to say that the so-called Red Terror of the Spanish Civil War killed more people than the Spanish Inquisition Even adding the non-military killings by Franco’s supporters, the so-called White Terror, which most historian agree was a greater death toll than the Red. (This does not imply of course that Generalissimo Franco and General Mola were any more brutal than the Republican forces it’s just they had more time- killing even after the war had ended.) The wanton killing on all sides during the Civil War can only be estimated by historian as is the case with The Holy Inquisition.