Shylock: The History of a Character

by Hermann Sinsheimer

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adding my thoughts now, about a week after I finished this. Surprised that this got through the Nazi censors, even without the second preface. It’s a well-written history which partially attempts to prove the influence of fiction on the character of Shylock—so it was intentionally not a demonstration of how real Jews fulfilled the stereotype. I don’t know if maybe it would be demeaning to be reminded that one of the best Jewish characters in fiction was essentially a stereotype, and that’s why the Nazis accepted it? Even Sinheimer himself seems a bit confused as to how it got past the censors. Regardless, I think my favorite part is the preface and ending; I’m always interested to hear about writers’ personal stakes in the character.