Member Review

The Rothschild family, founded in Frankfurt by Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), is a historically significant Ashkenazi Jewish banking dynasty that established a massive European financial empire in the 19th century. Mayer Amschel Rothschild was born in the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt and began his career as a coin dealer and financier in the 1760s, eventually building a successful bank. In the late 1700s, the family lived in a cramped house in the restricted Jewish ghetto (Judengasse) of Frankfurt, despite establishing a successful business.

This nonfiction, well researched book provides the personal histories of selected powerful women of the Rothschild. Spanning generations from the matriarch Gutle Schnapper to 20th-century, these women were raised to be quiet partners and power brokers behind the scenes. Gutle Schnapper, Hannah Rothschild, and others utilized their intellect and influence to shape the family legacy. They were activists regarding politics, culture, education and Zionism. There are far too many women to name individually who contributed to history, philanthropy, and society.

The book provides extremely informative insights regarding the historical persecution of Jews over the centuries before the Holocaust. In 1241, there was a pogrom of more than three-fourths of the Jewish community. A pogrom is a violent riot or mob attack, often sanctioned or condoned by authorities, aimed at the massacre or persecution of a specific ethnic or religious group, historically most commonly Jews. The Council of Basel (1431–1449) adopted restrictive measures against Jews, specifically in 1434, aimed at enforcing segregation and increasing pressure for conversion. In 1460, buildings were constructed to herd the Jews into the first legally mandated ghetto in Europe. By 1610, nearly 3,000 people were crowded into 200 houses. New houses were then built between the existing houses increasing the unsanitary environment.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press. All opinions in this voluntary review are my own.