John Israel Bender

The Converso John Israel Bender

Converso is a Spanish word for one who changes his religion. Thousands of Jews became conversos to save their lives, the Catholic Church did not tolerate heretics. Isaac ben Jacob Valles is born in 1810 near Valencia. He is baptised Tomas Garcia, soon after he is circumcised as Jewish law demands. Orphaned at 12 years he escapes to England where he is placed in a seminary, ten years later he is ordained as a priest. He has a short-lived love affair, his lover leaves him her wealth and diaries. They incriminate many involved in illegal practises. He turns to blackmail. There is an attempt on his life. He kills one of his assailants. Garcia now has sufficient money to buy into a bank which he later owns. His first wife dies in pregnancy. His second marriage is to the daughter of an impoverished Jewish doctor who befriended him when he was a seminarist. Their discussions unsettle him threatening his aetheistic beliefs. Forty years on he is one of England's richest men helping to fund the purchase of the Suez Canal. Disraeli gives him a baronetcy. In old age he returns to the haunts of his youth perhaps to expiate his sins. It is an unwise decision. He meets his bastard son. It is a disastrous outcome for both men. He helps fund the purchase of the Suez Canal. Disraeli gives him a baronetcy. In old age he has mellowed and returns to visit where his unsavoury career began perhaps to expiate his sins. He meets with a bastard son. The meeting is a disaster for both.