Licoricia of Winchester rose from obscurity to become the most successful female financier in thirteenth century England. Royal favourite, businesswoman, single mother and prisoner, her life spanned seven decades and was filled with dramatic highs and tragic lows. In this inspiring chronicle of an Jewish extraordinary woman, Rebecca Abrams tells the story of Licoricia and the Jews of medieval England, set against a backdrop of political unrest and rising antisemitism, opening a window onto a period of English history whose aftershocks linger to this day
 
This excellent biography by Rebecca Abrams restores Licoricia to her rightful place as one of the leading figures of her age.   Riveting in detail and accessible in style, Abrams sets Licoricia’s experiences and achievements within the local landscape of medieval Winchester and in the wider context of Jewish life in England at that time, amid the power struggles and turbulence of early Plantagenet rule.  
 
Licoricia’s story is both inspirational and enlightening for readers today. In her long and eventful lifetime, she defied one stereotype after another: a woman who thrived in a patriarchal and misogynistic world; a commoner who became a powerbroker in a realm of aristocrats and monarchs; a member of a religious minority who achieved personal and professional success in a Christian country in an age of murderous religious persecution. In today’s world, stalked by clashes between freedom and authoritarianism, historical facts and dark conspiracies, racial prejudice and a resurgence of antisemitism, she is in so many ways a hero for our times.