Winner of the Best Books 2005 Historical Fiction Award.

USABooknews.com.

"Impressive work … fine storyteller … absorbing, detailed account."

Jewish Journal (Los Angeles).

"Anton turns sketchy knowledge of Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi) and his family into an absorbing historical novel … the writing successfully captures the pace of medieval life and pulls the reader into the details of the characters’ lives."

Jewish Times News (Seattle).

"What makes this historical fiction particularly absorbing is Anton's ability to seamlessly infuse her own historical and biblical knowledge into the lives of her characters with rich detail of an era unfamiliar to many of us … Rashi's Daughters is a wonderful, richly textured yarn incorporating all the sights, sounds and impressions of an eleventh century Jewish community."

Norman Goldman, editor of Book Pleasures.  Read the full review and an interview with the author.

"A Talmudic scholar herself, Anton has re-imagined the life and world of the famed 11th-century biblical teacher Salomon ben Isaac (Rashi) through the lives of his three daughters … who he agrees to secretly tutor in the sacred books that women were not allowed to study. Joheved keeps her studies a secret from her betrothed, Meir ben Samuel … but there comes a time when Joheved must weigh safety and love against doing what is just and what is important to her as a woman. But unlike Yentl, Joheved doesn’t need to hide her femininity. Anton allows her to be all girl, giving readers a glimpse into everyday medieval family life without detracting from the historical backdrop or a powerful story. Readers will definitely be hooked on this series."

Kathe Robin, Romantic Times, August 2005.  Full review.

"Maggie Anton takes on this formidable task in her novel “Rashi’s Daughters.” She spent seven years gathering research and it shows. The immersion into the world of 11th-century Troyes, France, is complete. She describes the politics of counts, the making of parchment, the hand soap made from mutton fat and the use of moss instead of toilet paper. She provides detail about the growing of grapes, their transformation into wine and the marketing of the final product despite an onerous taxing system. I am particularly grateful for Anton’s vivid and careful research into the winemaking profession, which throws a fascinating light on the everyday life of Rashi and his family. … a wedding-night scene worthy of The Red Tent."

From "What’s bothering Rashi?" in the July 2005 World Jewish Digest, by Ruchama King Feuerman, author of Seven Blessings.

"Joheved, the eldest of Rashi's three daughters, has a secret wish, something that is strictly forbidden to Jewish women in 11th-century France: she seeks to study the Talmud. For years, Joheved has watched enviously as her father, the great scholar Rashi, teaches the Talmud to male students. Drawing on seven years of historical research and ten years of Talmud study, first novelist Anton explores why the famous Rashi-whose comments are printed on every page of the Talmud-decides to teach the Talmud to not only Joheved but also his other daughters. Like a mirror held up to the past, this first volume in a trilogy draws readers into the lives of medieval French Jewish women; much like Anita Diamant's The Red Tent, it delves into the rituals of women who were forgotten by history and marginalized by society. The book's publication coincides with the 900th anniversary of Rashi's death, which will boost interest. Recommended for most public libraries, especially those serving a large Jewish population"

Marika Zemke, West Bloomfield Twp. P.L., MI in July 12, 2005 LibraryJournal.com.

"If you want to get a sense of what the life of Rashi and his daughters was like, this is the book. The author says she spent a decade researching it, and we believe it. Certainly with regard to the details of French life then, and also with regard to Jewish life in France, Anton has done her job."

Jewish Book Blog, rated 4.5 out of 5.0.  Click here for their full review.

"I appreciated the opportunity to read Rashi's Daughters.  As a student of the late, great teacher of Torah, Nechama Leibowitz, Rashi's commentaries have long been  a subject of intensive study and interest for me. This carefully researched work of fiction by Maggie Anton provides a rare glimspe into the little-known medieval Jewish world in which Rashi lived and worked."

Naomi Ragen is the author of The Covenant and The Ghost of Hannah Mendes.

Maggie Anton has created an enthralling and well-researched novel of women's lives in the Jewish world of eleventh century France.  Blending authentic passages of Talmudic argument with the imagined human dramas of the household of the medieval scholar, Solomon ben Isaac, “Rashi's Daughters” entertains and educates.  Readers will eagerly await the promised second and third installments.

Judith R. Baskin, Director, Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies at the University of Oregon and author of Midrashic Women: Formations of the Feminine in Rabbinic Literature.

“Rashi’s Daughters” offers readers a glimpse into a fascinating world – a Jewish community in medieval France – and explores the lives of a famous scholar and his (unfortunately) not-so-famous daughters.  Anton’s extensive research and her imagination combine to retrieve the lives of Jewish women in a way that is both realistic and captivating.  This book is a must-read for Jewish women and others seeking to better understand women’s religious lives.

Dvora Weisberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Rabbinics and Director of the Beit Midrash at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.

"Book One of Rashi’s Daughters is a wonderful book that allows the reader to travel back to the 11th century to visit Rashi, his family, and his friends. The author has obviously done a good deal of research and this effort shows in the every word the characters utter, each activity that they undertake, and the way that each of these individuals perceives the world. Beyond these carefully crafted historical accuracies, though, the author has also created an entertaining story that captivates and inspires. After I started reading this book, I found it impossible to put down. I was completely drawn into the story and left the book with the feeling of having had the most amazing visit with a close friend. I eagerly await Book Two."

Tami Brady, Co-Dean, School of Religion and Spirituality, Suite University.  Click here for the full review and scroll down.

For those of us who study the classic texts of the Jewish tradition, pre-eminently the Bible and the Talmud, in the original Hebrew, the commentary of Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, popularly known as Rashi, is the indispensable guide. Without his commentary, these sacred texts would have remained closed to generations of Jewish students. But we tend to forget that this eleventh century French scholar is more than a name on the printed page. He was also a husband, father, grandfather and entrepreneur who lived during one of the most fascinating periods in medieval jewish history, and who had feelings, frustrations and hopes much like ours today.

In her novel, Ms. Anton has brought this man, his family, his century and his entire social setting to life in a vivid and colorful way. No one who reads this novel will ever read Rashi's writings in the same way. This is a stunning accomplishment!

Dr. Neil Gillman is Professor of Jewish Philosophy at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America and author of “Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew.”

The amount of learning Maggie Anton weaves into her vividly imagined romantic story is amazing. The reader plunges into the world of Medieval Ashkenazic tradition, truly becoming the student of the great Solomon ben Isaac. A tour de force!

Sylvie Weil, Professor Emerita, Hunter College, C.U.N.Y.  Author of Les Vendanges de Rachi, and My Guardian Angel.

"I just finished reading Maggie’s wonderful book over Shabbat and enjoyed it immensely. I also learned a great deal. Maggie Anton really painted a wonderful scene of Jewish life in medieval France and I loved the characters. Yasher Kochech; can't wait to read about Miriam (although I think Jocheved will remain my model). Anyhow, congratulations - it's a wonderfully imaginative and informative book."

Devorah Zlochower Director of Full-time Programs, Drisha Institute, New York.

Rashi had three daughters and no sons. Little is known about his family, but that has not stopped Maggie Anton from writing a novel about them called Rashi’s Daughters. So far, she has published volume one, about the eldest daughter; from it we learn a lot about the customs and practices and superstitions of the time, which, the author assures us in an afterward, are all based on solid research into the time and place. While the focus of the novel is certainly on the lives of the women in Rashi’s family, the presence of this towering figure is always felt. If you enjoyed The Red Tent, you might very well enjoy Rashi’s Daughters, which brings to life a very different time in the history of the Jewish people, again by focusing on the women who, from the perspective of a traditional account of the period, would be invisible. A cautionary note: though there is no violence in the book, sex is a prominent theme, which may make this book inappropriate for young readers. Since women’s lives were largely centered on having children, this is entirely appropriate and within context. For the reader old enough to be comfortable with this, I very much recommend this book, and look forward to volume two.

Rabbi Carla Freedman, Jewish Family Congregation, South Salem, NY.

This book is an imaginative blending of historical research, serious Talmud study, and feminist sensibilities, which brings to life the women of the most prominent family of the medieval Jewish world.  Maggie Anton does the world a great service in giving us such an accessible picture of Jewish life in Western Europe of the 11th century.

Rabbi Tracee Rosen, Congregation Kol Ami, Salt Lake City.

“Rashi and his entire community spring to life in this intriguing novel. Maggie Anton's combination of history, imagination and feminist readings of classical Talmudic texts is impressive.”

Rabbi Laura Geller, Senior Rabbi, Temple Emanuel, Beverly Hills.

I took Joheved with me on a trip back East. What a wonderful book! I am a fan! Congratulations! Truly, in all, a marvelous achievement. I felt I learned so much and enjoyed it too. Carry on! 

Eric A. Gordon, PhD. Director, Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring, Los Angeles.

"Well written and carries the reader along nicely." 

Emily Taitz, co-author of The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E. - 1900 C.E.  Remarkable Jewish Women: Rebels, Rabbis and Other Women from Biblical Times until the Present.