Aguilar, Grace (1816–1847)

English novelist whose writings educated the general public about Judaism. Pronunciation: ah-gee-lär. Born at Hackney, London, England, on June 2, 1816; died in Frankfort-on-Main, Germany, on September 16, 1847; eldest child of Emanuel Aguilar (a merchant); mother's name unknown; both parents were Jews of Spanish origin; educated at home; family moved to Devon in 1828; never married, no children.

Born on June 2, 1816, at Hackney, near London, Grace Aguilar was the youngest child in a rich and refined household. Her Spanish-Jewish ancestors were refugees from persecution, and it is likely that her family's personal history inspired much of her faith. A semi-in-valid, Aguilar was educated at home by her cultivated father and mother, and by the age of 12 she had written a heroic drama about her favorite hero, Gustavus Vasa. By 14, she had published a volume of poems.

Upon the death of her father, Aguilar took up writing as a profession to support herself. At 24, she accomplished her chief work on the Jewish religion, The Spirit of Judaism (1842), a controversial attack on the formalities of institutionalized theology. Republished in America with preface and notes by a well-known rabbi, Isaac Leeser of Philadelphia, the book insists on the importance of the spiritual and moral aspects of the faith delivered to Abraham and condemns a superstitious reverence for the mere letter of the law.

Four years later, in 1846, Aguilar published The Jewish Faith: Its Spiritual Consolation, Moral Guidance, and Immortal Hope. She published as well The Women of Israel, a series of essays on Biblical history, which was followed by Essays and Miscellanies. Her writings were so influential that the Jewish women of London gave her a public testimonial, addressing her as "the first woman who had stood forth as the public advocate of the faith of Israel."

While on her way to visit a brother then residing at Schwalbach, Germany, Aguilar was taken ill at Frankfurt. Unable to speak for some time before her death, she learned to talk with her hands. It was reported that her last hand movement spelled out, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." She died in Frankfurt at the early age of 31.

Aguilar's work has helped to educate the general public about Judaism and to voice concerns regarding the place of women in Judaism. Her lasting popularity, however, came from her domestic and sentimental novels—all but one of which were edited and published posthumously by her mother. The earliest and best known, and the only one to appear in her lifetime, was Home Influence (1847), which quickly passed through 30 editions, and remained a favorite with young girls for many years.

Among her other titles are: Mother's Recompense, Woman's Friendship, The Days of Bruce, and The Vale of Cedars (1850), a historic tale of the persecution of the Jews in Spain under the Inquisition, which is said to contain pieces of Aguilar's family traditions.