New directions in Anglo-Jewish history

This collection is the advance guard of the second wave of scholarly research into the Jewish experience in Britain since the predominance of gifted amateurs ended in the 1980s. Multi-disciplinary, wide ranging, conceptually sophisticated, full of irony, and frequently witty, there are no apologetics here. With these mainly young scholars, hailing from a variety of backgrounds, British Jewish history has reached maturity. The results are fascinating, sometimes shocking, but always illuminating. - David Cesarani, Research Professor in History at Royal Holloway, University of London -- This neatly edited volume provides exciting new insights into Anglo-Jewish history, with topics as varied as literature, film and orphanages, ranging in chronology from the mid-Victorian era through the eve of the Second World War. They break through barriers of history from above and below, of history and culture, and of Jewish and non-Jewish responses, providing critical perspectives on new and old topics alike. Taken together they represent the coming of age of the study of Anglo-Jewry, a subject matter until recently sadly ignored in British as well as Jewish historiography. -- Professor Tony Kushner, Parkes Institute, University of Southampton -- The essays in New Directions in Anglo-Jewish History bring us work on migrants, those who became "houseless, homeless, friendless in a strange place" and a welcome awareness that Anglo-Jewish history needs to break away from a London-centric approach. New perspectives are offered on the elite responses to fascist anti-Semitism in the 1930s. The important role of Jews in the British film industry pushes the boundaries further still. Such essays and the other contributions to this volume, bear witness to the greater academic recognition recently accorded to Anglo-Jewish history. All of these texts carry insights which remain relevant in an age of globalization when migration continues apace and other immigrants and refugees continue to confront that mixture of "dream and nightmare." -- Colin Holmes, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Sheffield -- This valuable collection of essays is a welcome addition. The essays introduce topics that have received little attention hitherto - such as immigrant identity in the provinces at the turn of the century and emigre Jews in the British film industry in the 1930s - as well as question conventional historical views - such as the belief that the response of the Board of Deputies to British fascism was weak and ineffective. - Todd M. Endelman, William Haber Professor of Modern Jewish History University of Michigan -- The past two decades have witnessed a remarkable renaissance in the academic study of the history of the Jews in Great Britain and of their impact upon British history. The essays presented in this volume reflect and offer some of the finest fruits of that regeneration, which could scarcely have been imagined a generation ago. --Book Jacket.