Immagine dell'autore.

Amy Levy (1861–1889)

Autore di Reuben Sachs

13+ opere 260 membri 8 recensioni 2 preferito

Opere di Amy Levy

Opere correlate

Poems Between Women (1997) — Collaboratore — 91 copie
Choice Words: Writers on Abortion (2020) — Collaboratore — 74 copie
Nineteenth-Century Women Poets: An Oxford Anthology (1996) — Collaboratore — 22 copie
The Religion of Beauty: Selections from the Aesthetes (1950) — Collaboratore — 11 copie
Men and Women: The Poetry of Love (1970) — Collaboratore — 8 copie
Poems in the waiting room : Issue 71 — Collaboratore — 1 copia

Etichette

Informazioni generali

Nome canonico
Levy, Amy
Data di nascita
1861-11-10
Data di morte
1889-09-10
Sesso
female
Nazionalità
Groot-Brittannië
Luogo di nascita
Londen, Engeland, Groot-Brittannië
Luogo di morte
London, England, UK
Causa della morte
suicide
Luogo di residenza
Londen, Engeland, Groot-Brittannië
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Engeland, Groot-Brittannië
Florence, Italië
Istruzione
University of Cambridge (Newnham College)
Brighton and Hove High School
Attività lavorative
dichter
essayist
romanschrijver
Relazioni
Lee, Vernon (geliefde)
Breve biografia
Amy Levy was born to a large Anglo-Jewish family. Her admirer and editor Oscar Wilde said that as a young adult, she "ceased to hold the orthodox doctrines of her nation, retaining, however, a strong race feeling." She began writing at a young age. At 13, she wrote a criticism of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Aurora Leigh; and at 14, her first poem "Ida Grey: A Story of Woman's Sacrifice," was published in the journal Pelican. She was a boarder at Brighton High School for Girls, a school founded by women’s rights advocates. In 1879, Amy Levy became the second Jewish woman to attend Cambridge and the first at Newnham College. After leaving Cambridge, she traveled back and forth between Europe and London. Her circle of literary friends included Clementina Black, Eleanor Marx, and Olive Schreiner. Amy Levy wrote poems, novels, stories, and essays for periodicals; many of her works reveal feminist concerns. In 1886, Amy Levy began writing a series of essays on Jewish culture and literature for the Jewish Chronicle, including The Ghetto at Florence, The Jew in Fiction, Jewish Humour and Jewish Children. Her final book of poems, A London Plane-Tree (1889), contains lyrics that are among the first to show the influence of French symbolism. Spending the winter of 1886 in Florence, Amy met and fell in love with Violet Paget, a writer who used the pseudonym Vernon Lee. Amy Levy's second novel Reuben Sachs (1888) was heavily criticized by the Jewish press. She had suffered from episodes of clinical depression from an early age and was growing deaf. These factors may have led to her suicide at the age of 27.

Utenti

Recensioni

Amy Levy sadly only lived long enough to write two novels before her depression overcame her and she committed suicide. This, the first and less serious of her efforts, never quite emerges from the shadow of Jane Austen, but is still a worthwhile read for its treatment of women in the late nineteenth century.

After the passing of their father, four girls decide to unite their efforts and open a photographic studio in London rather than wait for fate and society to take them. They meet many obstacles before they attain their goal, first among which is the prurience of the society they are leaving.

However, as the chapters roll on by, this becomes less a novel about women at work, and more traditionally about women seeking marriage; anyone who has read more than one novel by Jane Austen will see the twists and turns coming a mile off. This is a shame, as a book firmly committed to independent women running a photographer's studio would have been even more fascinating than what we have here. That said, there is only so much liberal thinking one can expect in a novel of its time, and without books such as this we might not have had the great emancipation movements that followed.
… (altro)
½
 
Segnalato
soylentgreen23 | Jul 11, 2021 |
Reuben Sachs is the story of a young man living in the heart of a large, conservative Jewish family in 19th century London. This was the book that was discussed at the September teatime reading group, and I didn’t expect to like it all that much. I don’t read very much Jewish fiction, so this book was a little out of my comfort zone; but I enjoyed Amy Levy’s descriptions of the family and Reuben’s relationship with Judith, a childhood friend he’s in love with but can’t marry. I thought Amy Levy was a little harsh on Jewish culture and traditions, and she was a little heavy-handed with the “tribe” theme. But in all, I thought this was a really interesting look into one family in 19th century London. Amy Levy was on 27 when she wrote this, and committed suicide just the year after, so you really wonder what she was thinking when she wrote this.… (altro)
 
Segnalato
Kasthu | 6 altre recensioni | Nov 12, 2011 |
The story of two cousins who live in an Anglo-Jewish community in London in the 1880's. Reuben and his cousin Judith have secretly been in love with each other for years. His family is not so subtly trying to keep them apart. Reuben has a possibility of becoming the Conservative MP for St. Baldwins. He needs a wife with money and social connections. Judith is a poor relation with bleak prospects. Although it's only 148 pages long, not much seems to happen until the very end of the story. We meet the extended family, they have a few dinners together and attend a dance. Along the way we learn the social and material expectations for each character. You know the entire time that it will not end well. Recommended.… (altro)
 
Segnalato
VioletBramble | 6 altre recensioni | Sep 15, 2011 |

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Statistiche

Opere
13
Opere correlate
7
Utenti
260
Popolarità
#88,386
Voto
½ 3.4
Recensioni
8
ISBN
38
Lingue
3
Preferito da
2

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