Martha Wolfenstein | |
---|---|
Born | Insterburg, Gumbinnen, Kingdom of Prussia | August 5, 1869
Died | March 17, 1906 Cleveland, Ohio, United States | (aged 36)
Resting place | Willet Street Cemetery[1] | , Cleveland
Occupation | Author |
Martha Wolfenstein (August 5, 1869 – March 17, 1906)[2] was a Prussian-born American author. She was once described as "the best Jewish sketch writer in America."[3]
Martha Wolfenstein was born in 1869 in Insterburg, East Prussia, the eldest daughter of Dr. Samuel Wolfenstein (1841–1921) and Bertha Brieger (c. 1844–1885).[4] Her father, who served as rabbi in that city from 1865 to 1870, had received rabbinic ordination under Zvi Mecklenburg.[5] During her infancy the family emigrated to the United States, after her father's election as director of the local Höhere Töchterschule was overturned by the Prussian government.[5] They eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as superintendent of the Jewish Orphan Asylum.[4] She resided at the orphanage and received a public school education.[6][7]
Wolfenstein's first publications were translations from German of short fiction by Leopold Kompert.[6] She went on to write short stories based on her father's experiences in a Moravian Judengasse, which she contributed to many of the leading American Jewish journals, and to other magazines like McClure's and Lippincott's.[8][9] Among her writings were A Priest from the Ghetto and A Sinner in Israel (in Lippincott's) and The Renegade (in the Outlook).
In 1901 the Jewish Publication Society of America released her first novel, Idyls of the Gass. A German translation was later published in Die Zeit of Vienna. It is noted for its strong female characters,[6] and sympathetic depiction of ghetto Jews.[9] The work received praise from Henrietta Szold, Israel Zangwill, Simon Wolf, Kaufmann Kohler, and other Jewish public intellectuals.[6][9][10]
At the time of her death, she was working on a play.[11]
Wolfenstein died from tuberculosis on March 17, 1906, after a prolonged illness.[12] The Central Conference of American Rabbis extended official condolences to her family in recognition of her literary talents.[13] Martha House, a residence for poor women and girls, was established in her memory the following year by the Cleveland Council of Jewish Women.[14]