Rashi’s Daughter, Secret Scholar was adapted from the first book in this series, Volume 1: Joheved. The tale of a young girl who challenges conventions to engage in Jewish learning; Set in 11th-century Troyes, France, Rashi’s Daughter, Secret Scholar tells the story of Joheved, eldest daughter of Salomon ben Isaac (known as Rashi), one of the great medieval Jewish Bible commentators. At a time when women traditionally were barred from studying Jewish texts, Rashi secretly teaches first Joheved, then her sister Miriam. By day, Joheved helps in running the household and the family winemaking business, and by night she studies Talmud with her father. As she nears marriageable age, Joheved finds her mind and spirit awakened by religious study, but she must keep her passion for learning and prayer hidden. When she becomes betrothed to Meir ben Samuel, she is forced to choose between marital happiness and being true to her love of the Talmud. Will she fulfill the expected role of a Jewish woman or pursue a path of Jewish learning? Based on her adult books about the daughters of Biblical scholar Rashi, Anton introduces Joheved and her sister, Miriam, who are living in eleventh-century France. Though the book spans years, readers come to know the sisters only superficially, and time and place is all. Anton provides a detailed but never boring look at what life was like at the time for residents of Troyes in general and Jewish girls in particular. In some ways, it’s what one might expect—keeping religious holidays, making a home—but these sisters are also privileged and study the Torah (against their mother’s wishes). Moreover, Joheved knows the family business, winemaking, and Miriam prepares to be a midwife. Throughout Anton does a masterful job of explaining the intricacies of medieval life, from how a grape is picked to the way paper is made, why certain amulets are used in childbirth, and the system of taxation on wine. With several important female characters besides the sisters, this beautifully shows the rich diversity of  women and the lives they lead, even long ago. Grades 8-12. --Ilene Cooper "Anton maintains much of the details of Medieval life that makes the book so vivid and appealing."— JTNews "Anton does a masterful job of explaining the intricacies of medieval life . . . this beautifully shows the diversity of women and the lives they lead, even long ago."— ALA Booklist "An absorbing tale."— Hadassah Magazine "The book is fascinating for the ways in which religion and superstition interact in every important act of life. This book should totally enchant and hold the interest of both adult and young adult readers."— Multicultural Review Adapted from the author's adult novel about Rashi's daughter, Joheved, this is for teenage readers. It is set in Troyes, France in the eleventh century and offers a view of a vibrant and close-knit Jewish community co-existing with its Christian neighbors. As Joheved and her younger sister Miriam study Talmud with their father, a renowned scholar and vintner not yet known as Rashi, their more conventional mother fears community disapproval and the possibility that they will be too learned to ever find husbands. Yet matchmaking, betrothal, romance, and childbirth are major parts of the story, assuming as much if not more importance than Rashi's daring decision to teach his daughters Talmud. The plot is filled with Jewish lore and superstition of the period, with the omnipresent threat of demons and the need to ward them off coloring a great deal of the characters' behavior. In contrast, Joheved's devotion to Talmud and her father's vast knowledge rise above the mundane and earn them the respect of both their co-religionists and Christians. Rashi's character is well-developed and multi-dimensional: he would prefer to be away from his wife and daughters learning at one of Europe's great Torah centers yet must stay at home tending his family's vineyards and selling wine to earn a living. The conflict he feels is sometimes expressed in outbursts of temper, especially against his wife and aging mother, creating a portrait of the great sage as a human, not a tzaddik. Joheved and Miriam are also sympathetic characters and teenage girls of today will find some things in common with them, despite the differences that have developed in Jewish culture over the centuries. Modern Jewish feminism is the underlying inspiration of the story but it is well integrated with the plot and characters and not anachronistic. In Sylvie Weil's outstanding novel, My Guardian Angel, Rashi's granddaughter is the main character and feminism is also the animating idea. It is for slightly younger readers than this book and together they offer a fascinating look at what Rashi's life, family, and world might have been like. "...an absorbing tale." Maggie Anton has transformed her successful adult novel based on the life of one of Rashi's daughters into a biography for young readers. Rashi'