From Plotzk to Boston: A Young Girl's Journey from Russia to the Promised Land

by Mary Antin

Mary Antin was born in Polotsk, Russia in 1881. Like many Jews in Russia, her family suffered under the progroms of the late 19th century and tried to emigrate to America. Leaving Russia was forbidden, and many Jews had to be smuggled across border to Germany before travelling by train to the port of Hamburg, where they were brought to emigration halls and put on ships to America. When Antin was thirteen when her family completed this migration and settled in the slums of Boston. Despite many hardships, she attended the prestigious Boston Latin School and wrote her first biography which was published in 1894 under the title 'From Plotzk to Boston'. Told in a simple way, this story reveals Antin's acute powers of observation. In 1912 she wrote her famous and more scholarly autobiography' The Promised Land' and became a supporter of Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party.

Genres: Memoir, History, Classics, Biography, Jewish, Womens

84 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

Born to a Jewish family in Polotsk, Mary Antin immigrated to the Boston area with her mother and siblings in 1894, moving from Chelsea to Ward 8 in Boston's South End, a notorious slum, as the venue of her father's store changed. ... Antin is best known for her 1912 autobiography The Promised Land, which describes her public school education and assimilation into American culture, as well as life for Jews in Czarist Russia.

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The synopsis listed here on GR gives a very good description of what this book is about so I will not re-tell it. But I will say however that I did very much enjoy listening to this birds eye view into the immigration of a young girl and her family from Russia to Boston during the late 1800's. It was very clear and engrossing. I actually am shocked to find out that though the writer was probably a teen or young woman by the time she retold and wrote about her journey, it was very mature and sounded not amateur at all but accomplished. I can't imagine having to take a journey of this kind and so it is always a welcome thing to read/listen to stories about them.

Yes I recommend it. I listened to it within the span of a few hours so I imagine it would also be a quick read.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did I only give this three stars in 2013? This time, I loved it. The mechanics of immigration, from leaving the old home to arriving at Boston Harbor. Trains, waiting, trains, boats, passes, paperwork, stamps, money, and officials. It's amazing that Mary Antin was only eleven when she wrote this. The only tell is that she's just discovered sarcasm. Definite important work on how people actually left the old country.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting book written by an eleven year old in Yiddish and then later translated by the same girl when she was thirteen.

Mary Antin is a Russian Jew who describes her and her mother and siblings' journey in 1894 from Russia on a train through Germany and finally on a boat to America. She lets us experience each step of the trip as they experience delays, prejudice, loneliness, boredom and anxiety as they wonder if they are ever going to make it to their father waiting for them in Boston.

Antin's power of expression as she describes her surroundings and the people she meets is nothing short of amazing for someone so young. This short book (it's only 84 pages long) holds its rightful place as a colorful and engaging record of the immigrant experience.

A great record of an important part of American history.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A DELIGHT TO READ.

At a very young age, Mary Antin exhibited an incredible facility for using words to capture and illuminate experience. In her narrative, ‘From Plotzk to Boston,’ with lucid and luminescent prose, she shares an insider’s view of the Russian-Jewish emigration experience—its agonies and its joys—during the late nineteenth century.

Recommendation: This is a very highly recommended, short read. Read also Mary Antin’s ‘The Promised Land,’ a more comprehensive look at the emigrant/immigrant experience. If you have an ereader, and/or software, these books are available to download free of charge (see below).

[ePub edition] A free ebook from http://manybooks.net/ —46 pages [see also: http://www/gutenberg.org

[Todd Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fascinating read in the author's retelling of her journey from Russia the U.S. The ordeal was filled with emotional trials and hardships as made her way to America. The book is based on her memories as a child in making this trip. It was interesting to view it from this point of view. It was also sad to realize the journey to America as an immigrant has not really changed. I feel bad for the ones making the trip from Latin America to hear and the harsh realities they face. I think this is a good book for people to really want to understand what it is like to immigrant whether it was 1894 or today.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief account of a young girl and her family's journey from Russia to America. The father has preceded them and after 3 years, they are finally able to join him. The children and their mother encounter multiple obstacles along the way, especially in passing into Germany. Since cholera was raging at the time, passengers were subjected to special steamings and cleanings of themselves and their belongings. Prices for passage were often increased.
The voyage across the Atlantic was particularly difficult, with seasickness prevalent among the passengers. It is hard to imagine these difficult journeys when travel today is so much simpler.
#FromPlotzkToBoston #MaryAntin

[Maj · Rating 5 out of 5]

definitely enhances understanding of travel in 1894; excellent in supporting genealogy research

[Avis Black · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really put off when the author admitted she didn't even know what a clothespin was. C'mon, in the 1800s it was normal for even the lowest and dumbest of peasants to use a stick with a split in it for the purpose. The book is a querulous, neurotic whine all the way through, and is irritating to read.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read on immigration through the eyes of a young girl. The author’s maturity in writing was quite remarkable and engaging. Although Mary and her family were not refugees, many of their experiences mirror those of modern day asylum seekers. For this reason, this little autobiography from the early 1900’s continues to be as relevant today as it was at the time of writing.