The Midwife of Venice

by Roberta Rich

This is the story of a young Jewish midwife who risks prosecution or worse trouble for the Jewish Ghetto in Venice by agreeing to help with a difficult birth of a Christian woman.  The woman agrees to do so, despite the warnings of her Rabbi, because the man offers to pay her enough money to free her husband.

Her husband is in Malta and will not be released by the Knights until a large ransom is paid for him.

The book alternates between the lives of the young woman and her husband who is ekking out an existence trying to survive until his ransom is paid or he can escape.

The young midwife uses birthing spoons (forceps) to deliver the baby and both the baby and mother survive.  However, the midwife loses or misplaces her birthing tool and fears that the tools will be used to get her imprisoned or worse.  However, she later finds that the brother-in-law of the woman who gave birth wants to hold the spoons for ransom to get the money the midwife made from the delivery -- he wants to settle gambling debts.  Things get worse when the baby's parents leave the child and the uncles of the child plot to kill him so that they can inherit the estate.  The young midwife saves the baby's life but kills one of the uncles to do so.  She is on the run and doesn't know where to turn, she goes to see her estranged sister who offers her shelter, but this results in the sister being murdered by the other brother.

When the midwife tries to return the baby to his home she learns that his parents have died of the plague.
What is she to do with the child, she heads off with him for Malta to rescue her husband.  While enroute to find her husband she meets a woman who is so appreciative of her contraceptive assistance that she offers to help her find a job in Constantinople.  With her skill at midwifery and the silk worms her husband have, and the baby they have decided to raise as their own, it would seem that a good future would lie ahead for them.

The book was an interesting read, it kept you engaged in what would happen.  I have to say that it seemed strange to me that a mother who worried about her newborn son  would abandon him so soon after his birth, but perhaps that would be customary with the artistocrats fo the time.  And, as it was historical fiction I think there could have been a bit more descripiton of life and the settings of the story.