28769 - BOOK DISCUSSION: PEOPLE OF THE BOOK BY GERALDINE BROOKS (IN-PERSON)

Course Description

Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is a novel of historical grandeur and emotional intensity. People of the Book, the story of the Sarajevo Haggadah, is one of the oldest surviving Jewish illuminated texts, through the fictional story of Dr. Hanna Heath, a rare-book expert, who worked to analyze and conserve the Sarajevo Haggadah. Discovering artifacts in its ancient binding, she unlocks the book’s mysteries. Author Geraldine Brooks traces the Haggadah’s journey from salvation to creation. Dr. Heath travels back in time to trace the book’s history. In World War II, it was protected from the Nazis. In Vienna, it became a pawn in the struggle against antisemitism. In inquisition-era Venice, it is saved from burning. In 1942 Barcelona, the scribe watched his family destroyed by enforced exile. In 1480 Seville, the Haggadah’s extraordinary illuminations were finally revealed.