The Singing Fire by Lilian Nattel
This novel is set in Victorian England and follows two Jewish women who immigrate to London. Nehama is from shtel and has dreams of making money and sending for her parents and sisters. Emilia is from a wealthly family in Minsk who leaves for London to escape her tyrant father after finding herself pregnant.
Both have their dreams dashed in London, a city dealing with the "Jewish" question. Nehama finds herself quickly lured into prostitution When she leaves this life, she is taken in by a couple who nurture her and she eventually finds a loving husband.
Emilia abandons her newborn daughter to Nehama who raises her. Emilia "passes" as a gentile and marries a Jew, only to be faced with conversion before her child is born.
The author makes some interesting points about Jewish life in mid-Victorian England, but the novel itself is disjointed.
Read: October 11, 2009
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