Rebecca Kohn is a Jewish authoress, not a Christian, thus she writes from a Jewish perspective and does not project Christian sentiment and practice onto our ancient heroine Queen Esther. The story deviates slightly from Scripture, but was clearly well-researched. The descriptions of ancient Jewish and Persian culture bring to life this familiar story. In that sense, it is a successful piece of historical fiction. On the other hand, Kohn’s characters, including Queen Esther, do not have as much depth of character as do Tenney’s (see Hadassah). There is so much potential in the story of Esther, as a woman, as a wife, as a leader. Much of that was missed in The Gilded Chamber. Esther came across as petulant and self-centered. Her motivations for going before the King at the risk of her life were not quite believable. This Esther is not a woman of faith as the Word of God portrays her to be. There is not a lot we can learn from this Esther’s too-shallow character. I did enjoy reading this novel, but it was not a quality piece that I would care to own. For anyone interested in a fictitious portrayal of what life might have been like for Queen Esther, I would point them to Tenney’s Hadassah, rather than The Gilded Chamber.