[
The Jews' Beech Tree] is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed German novellas of the nineteenth century. Published in serial form in the
Morgenblatt für gebildete Leser[
The Morning Paper for Educated Readers] in 1842, the text received only modest attention initially, but quickly achieved canonical status following its inclusion in Heyse and Kurz's
Deutscher Novellenschatz[
Treasury of German Novellas, 1876]. Since then the novella has remained widely read, and has been translated into many languages. Due to its popularity, its elegant and intentionally obscure writing style, and its subject matter,
Die Judenbuchehas been the object of intense scholarly debate. Unsurprisingly, there has been little consensus about how to interpret this enigmatic text:…
2139 words
Citation: Helfer, Martha. "Die Judenbuche". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 August 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16918, accessed 21 November 2024.]