In the 19th century five remarkable Sephardic women laboured to preserve Jewish life. They defended it from threats of conversion, assimilation and change, and they did so with the pen. They wrote and published novels, school books, poems and polemics – something that most Jewish men weren’t even doing. In many respects these women were before their time, and yet they were celebrated for their achievements in their own time. They lived in England and they lived in America. They are the forgotten heroes of the Anglo-American S&P.

Today is International Women’s Day. In recognition, I share with you these women from nearly two centuries ago. I hope they will inspire you as they’ve inspired me.

Click here for the lecture series. The Wise Son: The Women of the S&P