Vivian Jeanette Kaplan

Vivian Jeanette Kaplan, born in Shanghai in nineteen forty-six, is a distinguished Canadian writer and biographer. The daughter of Gerda Kosiner, she hails from a Jewish family with roots in Vienna. At the tender age of two, Kaplan and her family immigrated to Canada, where they settled in Toronto. Her early education at the University of Toronto included studies in English, French, and Spanish, laying a strong foundation for her future literary endeavors.

For two decades, Kaplan successfully ran Vivian Kaplan Oriental Interiors, a business specializing in importing home furnishings from East Asia. This venture not only showcased her entrepreneurial spirit but also her appreciation for diverse cultures and aesthetics.

Kaplan's literary contributions include her acclaimed work, Ten Green Bottles: The True Story of One Family's Journey from War-Torn Austria to the Ghettos of Shanghai. This poignant narrative earned her the Canadian Jewish Book Award in two thousand three and the Adei-Wizo Prize in Florence, Italy, in two thousand seven. The book's impact was further amplified when it was adapted into a stage play in Toronto in two thousand nine.

In two thousand thirteen, she published the historical novel Blind Vision, where she meticulously researched and presented her compelling argument that Christopher Columbus was a secret Sephardic Jew. This groundbreaking assertion was later validated in two thousand twenty-four through DNA analyses of Columbus's remains, confirming her findings.