Rebecca of Salerno

In medieval England, Jewish women like Rebecca did not wed Christian knights like Ivanhoe. Neither did these women heal the knights of wounds from battles. But Rebecca did both--and nearly paid for this audacity with her life. Rescued by Ivanhoe from being burnt at the stake as a sorceress, she fled from England and the man she vowed to love always--and landed in Salerno. In Salerno, Rebecca was thrilled to discover a way to fulfill her dreams as a healer--attending the medical school in Salerno, which accepted students from all groups. Defying tradition, and no small amount of family and community pressure to marry and have children, she completed her studies and became a physician. Practicing her profession and dodging marriage proposals from Rafael, the man who loved her, she made a life for herself. But conquest by the Hohenstaufens and the untimely arrival of rogue crusaders threatened the city's longstanding atmosphere of tolerance. Then a rabbi was falsely accused of murdering a crusader--and Rebecca could not help but get involved. Together, she and Rafael committed not only to pursuing justice, but also to saving the Jewish community.