Cole Family Trilogy Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Medicus | 1986 | N/A |
| The Physician | 1986 | Buy |
| Shaman | 1992 | Buy |
| Xamã | 1992 | N/A |
| Choices / Matters of Choice | 1995 | Buy |
| La doctora Cole | 1995 | N/A |
Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Night Ward | 1960 | Buy |
| Bamboo Ward | 1962 | Buy |
| The Rabbi | 1965 | Buy |
| The Death Committee | 1969 | Buy |
| The Jerusalem Diamond | 1979 | Buy |
| The Last Jew | 1999 | Buy |
| The Winemaker | 2006 | Buy |
Noah Gordon was an American novelist who wrote historical fiction with a strong focus on medicine and Jewish heritage. He published his first novel, Night Ward, in 1960, and went on to write 13 books over the next four and a half decades. His early works, including The Rabbi (1965) and The Death Committee (1969), established his interest in professional communities and moral questions.
Gordon’s breakthrough came with The Physician (1986), the first book in the Cole Family Trilogy. The novel follows Rob Cole, a medieval English orphan who disguises himself as a Jew to study medicine in 11th-century Persia under the historical physician Ibn Sina. While it had modest success in the United States, the book became an enormous bestseller in Europe, particularly in Germany and Spain, where it sold millions of copies. The sequels, Shaman (1992) and Choices (1995), follow descendants of the Cole family practicing medicine in different eras of American history.
His standalone novels cover a wide range of historical periods and settings, from The Jerusalem Diamond (1979), an adventure story involving a legendary gem, to The Last Jew (1999), set during the Spanish Inquisition, and The Winemaker (2006), about a family vineyard in Spain. Gordon died in 2021 at the age of 95.