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Claudia Hagadus Long
Nine Tenths of the Law by Claudia Hagadus Long
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Two sisters, their mother, and a Nazi thief.
In 1939, a beautiful enameled heirloom menorah was looted by the Nazis, grabbed from the hands of its young Jewish owner. Too beautiful to kill, Aurora herself was singled out by the SS for “special duties.” Eighty years later, Aurora’s daughters Zara and Lilly discover the family menorah in a New York museum. Haunted by their mother’s buried memories, the sisters scheme to get it back—but their quest takes a dangerous turn when the menorah disappears, leaving a trail of murder and mayhem behind it.
Aurora’s memories, it turns out, are very much alive; and now her secrets can bind the sisters together or tear them apart.
“In "Nine Tenths of the Law," Long has written a compelling story about a sensitive subject, a well-paced novel that deals with the restitution of Jewish property through the lens of a loving daughter. Zara struggles with
survivor's guilt and wrestles with the place of religion in her own life. With the realization that some questions can never be answered, that tragedies can not be rewritten, she takes solace in knowing that her mother's greatest legacy -- her daughters and grandchildren -- will live on guided by her spirit.”– Helene Cohen Bludman--Books is Wonderful
I am novelist Claudia H. Long, and here you can read all about me, my historical fiction novels, and follow the latest book news and events. I’m a weaver of words, catcher of dreams, and chronicler of the spaces between the lines in the history books: women’s stories, women’s dreams, her-story. In my alternate life I’m a new grandmother of two spectacular grandsons, mother of two marvelous kids, chocolate-loving lawyer-mediator, wife and cook.
My books live in rich historical settings that show the lives, loves, and lusts of women immersed in a society that they want to be a part of, but as themselves. Jewish women living as Catholics in colonial Mexico. Professional female writers struggling to effect change in early 20th Century California. Crypto-judaic feminist historical fiction sounds like a mouthful, but at their heart my books are sweeping romantic tales.
