Gemologist’s Debut Novel Draws Upon her Unique Expertise
Anna Rasche (CAS’09) sets her new historical fiction novel The Stone Witch of Florence during the Black Plague, and draws parallels to today
By Amy Laskowski
As a jewelry historian and gemologist, Anna Rasche has investigated the provenance of jewelry in private collections and prestigious institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And as a debut novelist, she has created a heroine who can harness the power of stones for good.
In 2014, while researching the uses of the organic gem coral in medieval times for a grad school assignment, Rasche (CAS’09) encountered a number of lapidaries—medieval-era encyclopedias detailing gemstones’ supposed healing powers.
These lapidaries explained that coral worn around the neck protected against bad omens and cured infertility. An amethyst stone placed under the tongue could prevent drunkenness and provide clarity. And an emerald could cure diseases of the eyes and help one see clearly. As she read, Rasche began imagining a fictional tale.
In October 2024, Rasche’s debut novel was published by Park Row, an imprint of Harper Collins. The Stone Witch of Florence begins in 1348. Ginevra, the young girl at the center of the story, can harness the power of gemstones to heal the sick. After being branded as a witch and banished, she is called back years later when the Black Plague infiltrates Florence. The city’s only hope is recovering the stolen church relics, which they believe have led to a curse. Protected by a coral amulet, Ginevra (“the stone witch”) can travel the streets of Florence to investigate the thefts. If she succeeds, she will be forgiven and respected as a true healer.
Entertainment Weekly described the book as a “twisty, historical witchy escape,” and the Washington Post called it an “interesting look at the intersection of folk magic, medicine and religion in the 14th century.”
Pretty impressive for a first-time author. When she had a draft of The Stone Witch complete, Rasche sent 40 queries to literary agents before signing with one and working for another year to edit her manuscript while working full time. She is now writing her second novel, tentatively titled The Midnight Diamond, about the Hope Diamond’s purported sister stone, which will incorporate research on the Gilded Age.
Rasche’s stories are shaped by her unique credentials. She grew up in York, Maine, and majored in archaeology at BU with a focus on Meso-America. A one-off class lecture on Etruscan and Hellenistic goldwork jewelry sparked a lasting fascination with the art form.
After graduation, she enrolled in a jewelry-making class and took an entry-level job grading diamonds at the Gemological Institute of America in New York. Next came jobs at antique jewelers, a high-end consignment start-up, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art where she was a research assistant. In 2014, Rasche enrolled in a graduate program in the history of decorative arts at The New School and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. It was there, surrounded by medieval stones, that the idea for The Stone Witch of Florence took shape.
Rasche knew she wanted to set the book in the Tuscan capital because of its connection to the Plague. “Part of my original epiphany moment was, okay, we have these powers of stone. So my main character is going to be a healer. And what more dramatic historical moment to set a healer?” Rasche asks. “I knew the plague had been bad in Florence. So I put those together.”
Rasche jotted down a few lines here and there but considered the book a far-fetched side project until her then-boyfriend—now her husband—encouraged her to devote some serious time to it. In 2019 she took a three-month trip to Italy on a tourist visa with her husband in tow (helpful since he speaks Italian, and she does not), spending a lot of time in Florence’s town squares and medieval churches. One of their visits was to the city’s Palazzo Davanzati, a historic house museum restored to look as if a 14th-century nobleperson lived there.
Rasche says her main characters are not based on specific historical figures, but she did draw inspiration from medieval healers who operated outside the formal medical guilds. Since the Catholic Church and the government were so intertwined, anyone who tried to practice medicine outside of these established structures could find themselves in trouble. But a few healers still did.
“I based Ginevra off of these people operating in this liminal space, that was not technically allowed,” Rasche says. “As long as you weren’t too loud about your practice, it could kind of fly under the radar because it really was a necessary service.” They were less expensive and often provided better, less invasive treatment than the professionals.
Rasche also drew from court records, period texts, and the few published female authors at the time, including Margery Kemp, a 15th-century mystic and author of the earliest English-language autobiography. “I didn’t want my characters to feel plunked down, to feel ahead of their time,” she says. “But while they’re still trying to operate inside the system, they also realize it’s not a system that’s serving them.”
While working on the book during and after the pandemic, Rasche noticed parallels between medieval times and the 21st century. “There are a lot of firsthand accounts from the 14th century that aren’t so different from today,” she says. “Social distancing, isolation, and municipal government bodies flip-flopping on the best advice on how to avoid contagion—it’s striking how these experiences are something that is shared 700 years later.”