Dreamers of the Ghetto

"e;Dreamers of the Ghetto"e;, the 1898 novel by British author Israel Zangwill, is a series of fictionalised biographies of notable Jewish thinkers including Spinoza and Heine. In "e;Dreamers of the Ghetto"e;, Zangwill explores the struggles of Jews trying to survive in the ignorant world of European Christian anti-Semitism at the turn of the century. Zangwill (1864 1926) was a leading figure in cultural Zionism during the 19th century, as well as close friend of father of modern political Zionism, Theodor Herzl. In later life, he renounced the seeking of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. A notable portion of Zangwill's work concentrated on ghetto life and earned him the nickname "e;the Dickens of the Ghetto"e;. Other notable works by this author include: The Master (1907), Ghetto Tragedies (1899), and Chosen Peoples (1910). This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with an introductory chapter from English Humourists of To-Day by J. A. Hammerton.