I’m thrilled to present this guest post by Stacey Agdern. It never occurred to me that a romance novel could be an important part of a modern family’s practice of an ancient religious tradition, but it makes perfect sense now. Thank you, Stacey.
Stacey Agdern is an award winning bookseller whose achievements have been cited in Publishers Weekly. She is also one of Barbara Vey’s WW Ladies, reviews Manga and Graphic Novels for Romantic Times Magazine and has given presentations about working with booksellers at regional and national conferences. She can be found on twitter at @nystacey.
This year, my brother and sister-in-law decided that they wanted to add an element to our traditional Passover seder. They suggested that the attendees bring with them a reading, a song, something that would elaborate on the themes of the holiday; anything from the Exodus to the greens on the seder plate.
It took no time at all for me to decide what I wanted to bring. I make no secret of my admiration for Liz Carlyle’s Never Deceive a Duke and the way she deals with the theme of anti-semitism in regency England. Especially since the hero of the story is one of few Jewish characters to be depicted in a historical romance novel (and in a leading role…).
The words used to describe the thematic path of the Exodus, the going out of Egypt, are “from degradation to dignity.” But when I thought about things further, I realized that these words also described the character arc of the hero of Never Deceive a Duke. Not only from the slums of his youth to the wealth of his adulthood, but also, and more importantly for my purposes, his religious arc.
Yes. His religious arc. For the hero grows from a boy unwanted because he has a Jewish taint, to a man who finds comfort in the faith of his mother and the grandparents who loved him. From Degradation to Dignity.
The notes below are what resulted from my mental ramblings. The italicized passages are taken from the story, my notes and interpretations below. I hope you find them thought-provoking.
From Degradation to Dignity: The Journey of Gabriel Ventnor aka Gareth Lloyd
Passover themes as explored in Liz Carlyle’s “Never Deceive a Duke”
By Stacey Agdern
Gabriel stood at a distance as the older boys played, kicking their ball along the swath of green. He had seen them in Finsbury Circus before. And he had seen the ball too; an amazingly round and bouncing sphere that skittered across the grass at lightening speed, and made a satisfying ‘thunk’ when kicked.
The smallest boy caught Gabriel’s eye and crooked a finger. With a glance back at his dozing grandfather, Gabriel dashed onto the grass.
The boy held out the ball. “We need a sixth,” he said. “Can you kick?”
Gabriel nodded. “I can kick.”
The biggest boy elbowed past him. “Give it will,” he said, snatching the ball from between them. “We ain’t playin with Jews.”
The time: The regency era
The place: England.
The facts: Our Gabriel is the product of a mixed marriage between the son of an aristocratic family and a young Jewish woman. He is loved by his parents and maternal grandparents. But his father is a soldier, a major in the British army stationed in India. So he is left with his mother and grandparents, ignored by his paternal relatives, subject to prejudice because of the ‘taint’ of his mother’s faith As you can tell from the scene above, the anti-Semitism of regency England runs deep. It is accepted at all levels of society and passed down to children as young as those depicted in the scene.
“Well he looks sturdy enough,” mused the Duchess, cutting a glance at her husband. “He does not appear to be wormy. He seems appropriately humble. And at least he is not swarthy.”
“No,” admitted the duke churlishly. “He is Major Ventnor made over, thank god-those gangling legs and that gold-colored hair included.”
The duchess turned her back on the old woman who had brought the boy. “Really, Warenham, what choice do we have here?” she murmured. “We must ask ourselves, I think, what is the Christian thing to do? Your pardon, of course, Mrs. Gottfried.” This last was tossed carelessly over her shoulder.”
On the death of his mother, father and maternal grandfather, his maternal grandmother is left with no choice but to seek help from his paternal relatives. They despise the young boy, despite the fact he seems to look just like them. Therein lies the fundamental problem with anti Semitism: at its core, it’s a prejudice against something a person can’t see or touch. As a result, it’s a rather difficult prejudice to fight, as Gabriel is learning here.
The church of St. George’s-in-the-East was a towering white edifice dwarfing everything which surrounded it. Stark against the Sunday morning sun, the bell tower cast a shadow which ran all the way to Cannon street and right over Gabriel’s toes.
“Bubbe, I don’t like it,” he whispered, tugging at her hand.
“What is this?’I don’t like it?’ ” she chided. “It’s a church, tatellah. It is god’s house.”
“Not your god,” Gabriel muttered.
His grandmother squeezed his hand. “Gabriel, my child, you must learn to be a part of them, these English. In a few years, you will be old enough for your Bar Mitzvah, yes?”
He narrowed one eyes suspiciously. “The English don’t have them ,bubbe.”
“Oh yes, but they are called confirmations,” she answered. “It was your mother’s dearest wish that you should have one.”
This scene is both controversial and rather important to Gabriel’s growth. It is controversial because many readers believe that Jewish grandparents would not raise their grandson out of the faith. But these comments come out of a modern view, products of a society where it is possible to live freely and openly as a Jew. However, in Regency England, Jews could not attend university, sit in parliament and do many other things English citizens took for granted. Therefore, it could be argued that Gabriel’s grandparents were acting purely with Gabriel’s survival and success in mind. Any grandparent who loved their grandson would understand that.
It is important to Gabriel’s growth because it demonstrates how truly in-between both the ‘English’ and the Jewish world he is. His loving maternal grandparents lived in a world he could not fully join, and the rest of the world didn’t really want him.
“Oy gevalt,” murmured his grandfather. “Poor devil.”
Soon the commotion was gone. Zayde grabbed Gabriel’s hand and hastened away. The gang had vanished into the g loom. “What did that man do, Zayde?”
“Drank too deep with men he did not know,” he said. “The English need sailors and to the press gang, almost anyone is fair game.”
Later in his own life, Gabriel was sold to a press gang by his paternal relatives. But thankfully, his story does not end there. For us, it jumps ahead to a time where Gabriel is forced to confront his ghosts and his past.
“You are surprisingly knowledgeable, Gabriel, for one who did not worship the faith.”
They had started down the hill which lead to the pavilion and the small lake beyond. Gareth found himself growing unaccountably tense. “Everyone I knew, Antonia, was a Jew,” he said quietly. “As a small boy, I had seen no other way. And yet I was kept from being a Jew.”
…
“Do you believe what they believed?” There was no hint of judgment in her voice, merely curiosity.
“Some days, Antonia, I don’t know what I believe.” He paused to lift a wayward briar from Antonia’s path. “For me, this isn’t even about faith. It’s about a nurturing community of good and honest people.”
She ducked under the briar, then glanced toward him with a faint smile. “Perhaps I understand better than you might imagine, Gabriel.”
Antonia has lived through the tragedy that brought Gabriel back to the central scene of his childhood pain; the death of her husband and child give him an unexpected and unwanted title. And yet she finds herself listening to him when he explains the process of shiva, of mourning. She who has no reason to listen at all.
Even though this story covers a great deal more ground, Gabriel Gareth Ventnor’s journey from degradation to dignity serves as its core. Thank you for listening.
