Regarding the subject matter:
– “In the Spider’s Web” by Chaim Eliav (this may be out of print- try your luck)
– Previously mentioned: books written by Sender Zeyv are extremely well researched, professionally written and have unique/interesting plots (“Every Man a Slave”, “Aleph Shin”, “Ten Lost”)
– Previously mentioned: Avner Gold, he has a beautiful flowing writing style that keeps you captivated. A bit dramatic and ‘fantastic’ (as someone already eloquently described); but since his books are historical fiction they lend the feeling of being well grounded plots with a wealth of believable info. At first glance they seem like children’s books, but I always say they can be read on 2 different levels- there’s so much to gain from them. The following are the books in the series I refer to:
1 The Promised Child
2 The Dream
3 The Year of the Sword
4 Twilight
5 The Imposter
6 The Purple Ring
7 Envoy from Vienna
8 The Marrano Prince
9 The Long Road to Freedom
10 Scandal in Amsterdam
11 The Fur Traders
12 Midnight Intruders
I hope you can gather enough books to keep you occupied for a while. It’s good to hear people are working on getting rid of the “tummah”. Hatzlocha! You have my full support 🙂