The Forgotten Interpreter

Between Shema and Gold, the Other Discovery

Seville, 1492. As Spain celebrates the fall of Granada and the Edict of Expulsion is proclaimed, a gifted converso who speaks several tongues keeps the Shema hidden in his breath. At home he is Yosef; in the records he appears as Luis de Torres. His command of Hebrew, Arabic, and Castilian earns him a berth on Columbus’s expedition from Palos de la Frontera—caught between whispered prayers and the promise of gold.

The Forgotten Interpreter is a work of historical fiction inspired by the real converso who sailed on the first Columbian voyage. From Sevillian courtyards to the decks of the Santa María, through Cádiz and the first islands sighted, the story follows a man living a double life, translating not only words but loyalties. A sealed chest, letters with dangerous names—Santángel among them—and a vow that cannot be written force Luis/Yosef to choose between surviving in disguise or speaking aloud what his mouth has carried from port to port.

With restrained prose and meticulous atmosphere, this novel explores the other discovery: the power of language to bridge worlds—and to betray. For readers of historical fiction drawn to Sepharad, converso identity, and the Age of Discovery, this is the tale of the interpreter history overlooked.