Description

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"Thoroughly readable....A fascinating introduction to the world of the Jew in 19th-century Europe, viewed through the eyes of a brilliant and perceptive artist."--AB Bookman's Weekly. "A first-rate eye-opener, a fascinating compendium of the profound struggle toward a more integrated humanity."--Choice. The work of the great 19th-century German poet Heine is rich with verbal portraits of Jews: men and women, real and imaginary, contemporary and historical, ranging from Karl Marx and the Rothschilds to Spinoza and characters from the Bible. Drawing on material only recently made available, as well as letters and recorded conversations, Prawer has produced a work which is at once a study of the technique of literary portraiture, and a panorama of the Jewish world throughout the ages.