Maggie Anton’s latest novel, Enchantress, may be set in ancient Talmudic times, but it grapples with modern feminist themes. It is the story of Hisdadukh rising in her profession as a harasheta (sorceress), negotiating difficult relationships with other women in her field, as well as with her strong-willed husband, Rava. Hisdadukh and Rava struggle with how to excel professionally in similar fields—working together to help each other succeed, learning from each other, as well as setting strict boundaries between their professions and keeping secrets from one another.
The novel’s heroine, Hisdadukh, daughter of the talmudic sage Rav Hisda, goes unnamed by Talmud, yet Anton creates two entire novels about her, giving her not only a name, but a colorful personality and professional agency. This is the second novel in a two-part series on Rav Hisda’s daughter, but it can easily stand alone without reading the first book.
As is her forte, Anton does a wonderful job of fleshing out the talmudic characters, their daily lives, and the superstitions with which they lived. Magic is a prominent theme in the book, and a number of demons are important characters in the book. The demons, and the context of Hisdadukh’s profession as a sorceress, bring to life the many talmudic references to demons and superstitions, and remind us that the talmudic world depended not only on logic and rational arguments, but also on a belief in the presence of and ability to negotiate with the supernatural.
Anton does take liberties with some of the characters, perhaps straying from the texts and historical context to make a more scintillating story—for example, she insinuates that Yalta had lesbian tendencies.
Talmudic passages are skillfully woven into the narrative, and you will likely find yourself stumbling across familiar talmudic quotations throughout the novel. I enjoyed that the passages were incorporated into the narrative, but would also have liked to see the direct references in the text or in an appendix for easier reference. I also would have liked to see a family tree of the generations of sages (in addition to a cast of characters) to keep straight all the generations and relationships.
Overall, I found this to be an interesting narrative, and was pleasantly surprised by the modern and feminist themes present in the book, as well as the attention to ancient and talmudic details.