- Paperback: 198 pages
- Publisher: Harvill Press (26 Jan 2010)
- ISBN-10: 1846553571
- ISBN-13: 978-1846553578
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 1.5 x 21.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,813,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
'First published in 1953, this magical historical novel ostensibly describes the series of events which led to Bohemia's defeat by Austria at the Battle of the White Mountain in the 16th century. But the Czech emigre author was probably inspired by the events of the Holocaust, so expertly does he re-create the uneasy alliances of Prague's Jewish and Catholic communities. While riding in the woods, Emperor Rudolf II, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, comes upon two men counting money destined for a member of the "persecuted race," Mordechai Meisl. The Emperor demands a taler for himself, but the coin causes him only misfortune and, by a series of mysterious coincidences, ends up in Meisl's hands. Thus begins the long, secret and often tragic association between the two. Rudolf II, corrupt, weak and spendthrift, needs Meisl's money-making talents to finance his extravagances, while Meisl can prosper only under Rudolf's protection. By novel's end it's clear they are in reality enemies. Perutz lets his imagination soar, abandoning the excessive caution he often shows elsewhere. The risks pay off in this finest of his works now in translation.' Publishers Weekly
From the Back Cover
"These sensual, sometimes comic, sometimes sad little stories follow one another seamlessly and yet stand by themselves, and each has a wry gentle moral point. Perutz leads the reader into an enchanted world" Leonard M. Evans, San Francisco Chronicle
This novel comprises a cluster of linked stories that evoke Prague, capital of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire, at the end of the sixteenth century. It focuses on the Emperor, paranoid, wayward, spendthrift Rudolf II, and his court - a crowd of schemers and parasites - up at the Castle; and on the teeming, dilapidated Jewish ghetto ruled by the Great Rabbi and largely in the pocket of the immensely rich financier Mordechai Meisl, the Emperor's creditor. The link between the Castle and the Ghetto is Esther, the rich Jew's wife, with whom the Emperor is in love. And the stone bridge? Beneath it grows a white rosemary and a red rose which nightly entwine, as the Emperor and the beautiful Jewess entwine nightly in their dreams. Only by severing the two plants can the Great Rabbi break the spell of adultery and deliver the city from the wrath of God.
"As with all the finest craftsmen, his craft is concealed in the woof and the warp of an admirable product. He is eminently readable" Norman Lebrecht, Jewish Chronicle
"Eric Mosbacher's translation achieves an impressive balance between narrative drive and the most mysterious purposes of magic" Independent
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2 reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
fascinating account of 16th century prague
19 Oct 1999
Format:Hardcover
This book is Leo Perutz' monument to his childhood home prague, a fascinating tapestry that brings together the stories of historical people such as Wallenstein as well as of fictional characters. Further more, it is a tribute to Jewish life, written after the catastrophy of WWII when the Jewish culture Perutz came from had been destroied. As always with this author the plot is developed magnificently and the language beautiful. Definitely recomended!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A great fictional look at 17th-century Prague
13 May 2005
Format:Hardcover
This book deserves to be much better known. I think it is one of the classics of 20th century European literature and a must for anyone who loves Prague, taking us back to the city of Rabbi Judah Loeb - the legendary creator of the mythical Golem - on the eve of the Thirty Years' War. The book might be of particular interest to fans of Ivo Andric (and similarly, fans of "The Bridge over the Drina" should enjoy Perutz's book). The atmosphere is somewhat similar, with the old bridge as a sort of silent witness to events related in a series of highly entertaining and - at their best - magical tales.
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