Outlines of Jewish History.
[Judaica]. Magnus, Lady Katie. Outlines of Jewish History. From B. C. 586 to C. E. 1885. Revised by the late M. Friedlander. London: Myers and Co., 1924.
12mo.; preliminaries lightly foxed; green cloth, spine lightly bumped.
Second, revised edition, published for the Council of the Jewish War Memorial. A note on the first edition of 1886, reprinted here, specifies that the work was published at the expense of the Trustees of the late Jacob Abraham Franklin who had willed money for the “promotion of certain object in connexion with the Advancement of Judaism. One of the objects was the publication of religious treatises and text-books.” The significant changes to the second edition are a few “minor alterations” made by Rev. Isidore Harris and the inclusion of some “Genealogical Tables” complied by Rev. Michael Adler. A gift copy, inscribed by Magnus’s son: Wilfrid Sidney Joseph with all good wishes from the Author’s Son. June 1924.
Lady Magnus (1844-1924) wrote a number of stories and historical tales, mostly aimed at children, that were highly successful among both Jews and non-Jews in England. She tried to write simply without exaggeration while conveying her enthusiasm for Jewish history. Besides the Outlines of Jewish History, her most successful work was Jewish Portraits, which included sketches of famous contemporary Jews. Some of these are also found at the end of her Outlines, which begin with the Jews in Babylon. Over four sections that cover everything in-between, Magnus tells the “whole sad, beautiful, ‘heroic history’ of my race” (p. viii). Three foldout colored maps illustrate her narrative.
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