Wecker’s extensive research is evident throughout “The Hidden Palace,” whose characters are placed smack in the middle of key historical events of the period, both in the Middle East and America. His work as a Western Union telegram bicycle delivery boy had Wecker diving into research on the tragedy of children and teenagers doing such dangerous work on the congested early 20th century New York streets. National Archives via Wikimedia Commons)Īnother new character, Toby, the haunted son of Chava’s old friend Anna is instrumental in driving the second half of the novel forward. It took so long to write this book because I couldn’t phone it in,” she said.ĪpDemonstration of protest and mourning for Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of March 25, 1911 “I knew I had to hit the bar I had already set. To be honest, it was a little overwhelming, and daunting to be given the opportunity to write another book,” Wecker said.

“The first book’s reception was wonderful and everything I could have hoped for. In a recent conversation with The Times of Israel from her home in northern California, Wecker acknowledged her fans’ long wait for the sequel. Although the Jewish Golem and Arabian Jinni themselves never age, time nonetheless ticks on and they must adapt to the quickly modernizing and tumultuous age. To the delight of fans of 2013’s bestselling historical fantasy “The Golem and The Jinni,” author Helene Wecker has penned a sequel titled, “The Hidden Palace.” Picking up where the first installment left off at the waning of 19th century, the new page turner spans the first 15 years of the 20th century. Eight years after they first bewitched us, Ahmad the jinni and Chava the golem are finally back.

The golem and the jinni book 2