The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Red Tent

Anita Diamant

Even if you only have a passing aquaintance with Bible stories, you will have heard of Jacob (12 sons) and Joseph (coat of many colours). But what about the women in their lives? This hugely enjoyable novel lifts the tent flap and invites you in. Massively popular with readers' groups, it has become a feminist classic and rightly so.

Extract
We have been lost to each other for so long.
My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust.
This is not your fault, or mine. The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing. That is why I became a footnote, my story a brief detour between the well-known history of my father, Jacob, and the celebrated chronicle of Joseph, my brother. On those rare occasions when I was remembered, it was as a victim.

Parallels
  • Queenmaker by India Edghill
  • How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto