Grotesques and Fantasies

Written by Israel Zangwill

Narrated by LibriVox Community

A set of often funny, sometimes tragic stories by Israel Zangwill. Most famous for his scathingly accurate portrayals of the Jewish ghetto, these stories have a wider stage, poking fun at social conventions and society itself, both high and low. The real and the fantastic collide to produce a world uniquely Zangwill's.

These are the tales of figures as diverse as a pantomime dragon, an excellent butler, a man living his life in the wrong order and a Jewish maiden who knows exactly what she is worth. Well observed and original, the satire is biting and the wit sparkling.

Many of the stories in this volume are accompanied by excellent illustrations, which are well worth a look. They are available in the Gutenberg e-text.

The novella, King of Schnorrers, which began this collection when it appeared in print, has already been recorded separately. As such it is omitted from this collection, and only the shorter stories are included. (Summary by Lucy Perry)

• Language: English
• Publisher: LibriVox
• Release date: Aug 25, 2014

Israel Zangwill

Israel Zangwill (1864-1926) was a British writer. Born in London, Zangwill was raised in a family of Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. Alongside his brother Louis, a novelist, Zangwill was educated at the Jews’ Free School in Spitalfields, where he studied secular and religious subjects. He excelled early on and was made a teacher in his teens before studying for his BA at the University of London. After graduating in 1884, Zangwill began publishing under various pseudonyms, finding editing work with Ariel and The London Puck to support himself. His first novel, Children of the Ghetto: A Study of Peculiar People (1892), was published to popular and critical acclaim, earning praise from prominent Victorian novelist George Gissing. His play The Melting Pot (1908) was a resounding success in the United States and was regarded by Theodore Roosevelt as “among the very strong and real influences upon [his] thought and [his] life.” He spent his life in dedication to various political and social causes. An early Zionist and follower of Theodor Herzl, he later withdrew his support in favor of territorialism after he discovered that “Palestine proper has already its inhabitants.” Despite distancing himself from the Zionist community, he continued to advocate on behalf of the Jewish people and to promote the ideals of feminism alongside his wife Edith Ayrton, a prominent author and activist.