UNITED KINGDOM AUTHOR · HISTORY · FICTION
Barbara Wood
Amazon author bio - "Barbara Wood is a writer with a background in economics, history and theology. Barbara is the eldest daughter of pioneering environmentalist, Fritz Schumacher. She has worked for the Intermediate Technology Development Group and the Voluntary Services Overseas Assocation."
Most acclaimed
Yesterday's child
1997
"Yesterday's Child" is the gripping and unusual tale of a courageous young man who, as a young boy, suffers the tragic loss of his mother, with whom he had lived with since her divorce from his father. After his mother's death he begins life anew in the picturesque South African city of Cape Town with his father, stepmother, and new siblings. What starts out as simple bar-mitzvah lessons blossoms into an abiding friendship with a local rabbi and his family. Despite his parents objections, he is drawn to the Torah and to his newfound friends as a thirsty traveler is drawn to an oasis in the desert. When he reaches adulthood, however, his seemingly brilliant and joyful future is suddenly shattered by startling revelations about his past. On the threshold of life's most critical decisions, he is thrust into the agony of dealing with dark secrets he cannot divulge to anyone besides his very closest friend. The reader watches with bated breath as the troubled young man embarks upon a voyage into his past, a voyage whose outcome will determine the very essence of his present and future
Soul flame
1987
Wood combines her superb storytelling gifts with medical and historic fact to create the epic adventure of an unusual and gifted young woman seeking her destiny in the ancient healing arts. Born into the tumultuous world of ancient Antioch, Selene is orphaned at birth. But before her father dies, he leaves a puzzling clue to her heritage: she has come from the gods and has a special destiny to fulfill. In the coming years, Selene studies the primitive healing arts with Mera, the healer-woman who adopts her. She learns how to lower fevers by brewing Hecate's Cure from the willow tree, how to apply green mold to an open wound to prevent infection, and most importantly, how to calm a patient by summoning the inner power of the "soul flame." But on her sixteenth birthday, Selene falls in love with Andreas, a passionate and troubled surgeon. When fate cruelly separates them, Selene's search for Andreas takes her to the great centers of civilization in the ancient world-Egypt, Babylon, and Rome. Desperate to find Andreas, Selene is torn between love and her dreams of healing when a revolutionary vision brings her to the fulfillment of her destiny-and the dawn of modern medicine.
Virgins of Paradise
Inside a beautiful mansion on Virgins of Paradise Street in post-World War II Cairo, Jasmine and Camelia Rasheed grow to womanhood under the watchful eyes of their grandmother and the other women of the prominent Rasheed family. Despite the glamour and elegance of the city, women still wear the veil and live in harems. But as Egypt begins to change, so do Jasmine and Camelia. Rebelling against a society in which the suppression of women is assumed, Jasmine and Camelia embark on turbulent personal and professional voyages of discovery. Cast out of the family, Jasmine travels to America to become a doctor while Camelia sets out to become one of the foremost beledi dancers in the Middle East. Sensuous, spicy, and romantic, 'Virgins of Paradise' is a spellbinding novel set in an exotic and erotic culture. Brilliantly portraying two sisters' search for identity amidst historic change, Wood also conveys a portrait of an ancient nation merging into the modern era while mired in superstition, magic, and mythology. "Wood makes her fiction come alive with authentic detailing and highly memorable characters." -- Booklist