The King of Schnorrers is

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...

's 1894

picaresque novel The picaresque novel (Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for " rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrup ...

,Milton Hindus,
The King of Schnorrers, by Israel Zangwill
, ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

'', March 1954 a collection of amusing tragicomic episodes of '' schnorring'' by "Manasseh Bueno Barzillai Azevedo da Costa, thenceforward universally recognised, and hereby handed down to tradition, as the King of Schnorrers", in England on the break of 18th/19th centuries, illustrated by Jewish prints and caricatures of the period.

Literary criticism

The novel describes the exploits of two ''schnorrers'', Manasseh da Costa, a

Sephardi Jew Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

, and his sidekick Yankele ben Itzhok, an

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

(specifically, a

Polish Jew The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

). (The fact that they are from different communities is at the center of the conflict of the plot of Chapter 5 "Showing How the King Dissolved the

Mahamad Ma'amad or Mahamad ( he, מעמד) was Council of Elders (or "the board of directors") of the communities of Sephardi Jews ( Spanish-Portuguese Jews) corresponding to ''qahal'' of the Ashkenazi Jews. Ma'amad was described as extremely conservative ...

".) Manasseh deals with the life with his wit and "the truly Hidalgo pride". Manasseh's frequent victim is Joseph Grobstock, a ''

nouveau riche ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...

'' capitalist. A significant component of Zangwill's humor are the traditions of charity and mutual responsibility in Jewish communities. Milton Hindus wrote that the Jews did not regard outcasts as failures and assumed social responsibility for them. "Properly exploited by a fertile intelligence like Menasseh’s, this attitude enables the ostensible mendicant to become the actual master in the eleemosynary relationship." The popularity of the novel at the time prompted the author to write a script for the stage. It was not published and thought to be lost until Edna Nahshon discovered it (with some other Zangwill's originals) and it is now at deposit in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. The play debuted in London in 1925. In was published in 1986 in the volume ''From the Ghetto to Melting Pot: Israel Zangqill's Jewish Plays: Three Playscripts''.

Influence

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...

wrote a musical comedy based on Zangwill's novel in 1968, which ran on Broadway for a short time in 1979. It was revived in 1990s on Los Angeles scenes by

Judd Woldin Judd Woldin (May 30, 1925 – November 27, 2011) was an American composer, most notable for his musical ''Raisin''. Biography Edwin Judd Woldin was born in Somerville, New Jersey. At the age of eight, he began taking piano lessons. In high schoo ...

. It was a reworked version of Wodlin's ''Petticoat Lane'', a reworked Zangwill's episode about two lovers from two divided Jewish communities., Lindy T., Shepherd
"A LITTLE CHUTZPAH"
an review of thepremiere of ''King of Schorrers'' at Orlando's JCCJudd Woldin Biography.

References

External links

A reading of Israel Zangwill's historical satire ''The King of Schnorrers (1894)''
a

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

LibriVox LibriVox is a group of worldwide volunteers who read and record public domain texts, creating free public domain audiobooks for download from their website and other digital library hosting sites on the internet. It was founded in 2005 by Hugh Mc ...

recording * * Wikisource:Page:The Spoils of Poynton (London, William Heinemann, 1897).djvu/306, – quotes from contemporary reviews 1894 British novels Fictional British Jews Picaresque novels {{Authority control

Literary criticism

Influence

References

Further reading

External links