AGUILAR, GRACE

born June 2, 1816, London, Eng. died Sept. 16, 1847, Frankfurt am Main poet, novelist, and writer on Jewish history and religion, best known for her numerous sentimental novels of domestic life, especially for Home Influence (1847) and The Mother's Recompense (1851). Aguilar was the daughter of Sephardic Jews. She was tutored in the classics at home and (even in adulthood) was not permitted to move outside of her family circle. Before becoming known as a novelist, she gained a considerable reputation as an educator about Jewish culture for an English-speaking public. Within the bounds of a painfully circumscribed life, Aguilar managed to write 12 books. In The Spirit of Judaism (1842) she attacked contemporary Judaism for its formalism and traditionalism. Her novels, although they evinced strong religious feeling, were free of sectarian bias. Home Influence was the only one published during her lifetime.