This book is a radical reassessment of the roles of women in Jewish marriage, divorce, and remarriage, examined through the setting of Italy from the end of the Renaissance to the Baroque, where negotiations involved competing Jewish customs, rabbinic opinions, Catholic practices, and Islamic influences. Case studies illustrate the ambiguity, drama, and danger to which women were exposed as well as opportunities to make their voices heard and to extricate themselves from situations by forcing a divorce, collecting or seizing assets, and going to Catholic notaries to bequeath their assets outside traditional inheritance, often to other women.

1. Introduction: Jews, Women, and Rabbis in Italy 2. Negotiating Engagement: Anticipating Danger 3. Breaking Betrothals: Fleeing Danger 4. Negotiating in and out of Marriage 5. Anticipating Death: Negotiating Assets 6. Remarriage: Negotiations Between Families 7. Conclusion

Howard Tzvi Adelman is Director of the Jewish Studies Program and Associate Professor of History at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.