Books with author Alice Goffman

Over five years in the writing, The Dovekeepers is Alice Hoffman’s most ambitious and mesmerizing novel, a tour de force of imagination and research, set in ancient Israel. In 70 C.E., nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman’s novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path. Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker’s wife, watched the horrifically brutal murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers; she brings to Masada her young grandsons, rendered mute by what they have witnessed. Aziza is a warrior’s daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and an expert marksman who finds passion with a fellow soldier. Shirah, born in Alexandria, is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power. The lives of these four complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege. All are dovekeepers, and all are also keeping secrets—about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love. The Dovekeepers is Alice Hoffman’s masterpiece.

Estrella is a Marrano: During the time of the Spanish Inquisition, she is one of a community of Spanish Jews living double lives as Catholics. And she is living in a house of secrets, raised by a family who practices underground the ancient and mysterious way of wisdom known as kabbalah. When Estrella discovers her family's true identity--and her family's secrets are made public--she confronts a world she's never imagined, where new love burns and where friendship ends in flame and ash, where trust is all but vanquished and betrayal has tragic and bitter consequences.Infused with the rich context of history and faith, in her most profoundly moving work to date, Alice Hoffman's first historical novel is a transcendent journey of discovery and loss, rebirth and remembrance.

From the bestselling author of Practical Magic, comes a beautiful spellbinding tale of magic, friendship and an ancient curse.Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all, her town is rumoured to hide a monster - and it is these rumours of a winged beast which draw in as much tourism to the town as its famous apple orchards. Two hundred years ago, a witch placed a curse on Twig’s family that was meant to last forever. But this summer, following the arrival of a new family in town, Twig may just have found her first true friend and an ally in vanquishing this ancient curse. It’s time to try and break the spell... but will everything change when the red moon rises? Be enchanted by this magical and endearing new story from highly acclaimed and widely adored Alice Hoffman, who has yet again created a beautiful novel that will bewitch its readers from the first page until the very last.Praise for Alice Hoffman:'Alice Hoffman can write about love like no-one else' Jodi Picoult 'I love the way Alice Hoffman creates the most ordinary people and then turns their lives magical. She does it here once again, in Nightbird. The book is like re-entering in a wonderful dream that you vaguely remember.' Lois Lowry 'Hoffman knows how to tell a good story' Sunday Times

Bestselling author Alice Hoffman’s bewitching Nightbird is perfect for ages 10-13: love and friendship empower a lonely girl to embrace her uniqueness and discover her strengths. Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all, her town is rumored to hide a monster. And two hundred years ago, a witch placed a curse on Twig’s family that was meant to last forever. But this summer, everything will change when the red moon rises. It’s time to break the spell. PraiseNominated for: The Great Stone Face Award (NH) Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award (Illinois) The Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Maryland) “Hoffman reminds us that there are secrets everywhere . . . Nightbird soars.”—The New York Times “Alice Hoffman has a gift for melding magic and realism in a way that makes nearly anything seem possible.”—Shelf Awareness, Starred “The mix of romance and magic is irresistible.”—Kirkus ReviewsWhat Other Authors Are Saying“I love the way Alice Hoffman creates the most ordinary people and then turns their lives magical. . . . [Nightbird] is like reentering a wonderful dream that you vaguely remember.” —Lois Lowry, two-time Newbery Medal–winning author of The Giver