One of Matt Cohen’s great gifts as a writer was that he refused to sit still and be pigeon-holed for one particular style of story. He turned his pen to everything from the genius of the Salem novels to the carefree beauty of Teddy Jam’s children’s books to the epic saga of The Spanish Doctor (first published in 1985). Set in Spain at the beginning of the great era of Jewish persecution in the 15th century, The Spanish Doctor tells the tale of Avram Halevi, a brilliant, sought-after doctor. As the era of tolerance that once marked Moorish Spain crashes to a close, Halevi’s privileged life is torn apart. Halevi flees first to France and then eventually to the remoteness of Russia to sustain the freedom he needs as much as life itself. Accompanying him is Gabriela, the woman who loves him. Peopled with men and women whose will to live surpasses war, plague and persecution, The Spanish Doctor is a powerful novel of passion and faith.