The "Ghetto Tragedies" collected in a little volume in 1893 have been so
submerged in the present collection that I have relegated the original name to
the sub-title. "Satan Mekatrig" was written in 1889, "Bethulah" this year.
Anyone who should wish to measure the progress or decay of my imagination
during the ten years has therefore materials to hand. "Noah's Ark" stands on
the firmer Ararat of history, my invention being confined to the figure of
Peloni (the Hebrew for "nobody"). The other stories have also a basis in life.
But neither in pathos nor heroic stimulation can they vie with the literal
tragedy with which the whole book is in a sense involved. Mrs. N.S. Joseph, the
great-hearted lady to whom "Ghetto Tragedies" was inscribed, herself walked in
darkness, yet was not dismayed: in the prime of life she went down into the
valley of the shadow, with no word save of consideration for others. I trust
the new stories would not have been disapproved by my friend, to whose memory
they must now, alas! be dedicated.
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All books by Israel Zangwill
