Rachel Lichtenstein – författare

From the celebrated author of Rodinsky's Room and On Brick Lane, this is the story of Yiddish, its near destruction and astonishing survival. It is also the story of a penniless, charming writer on a mission to save his language, and a historian on a quest to follow him to the ends of a rapidly vanishing world. As a child, acclaimed author Rachel Lichtenstein heard stories of the émigré Polish poet from her grandparents. They had been regular members of his iconic Yiddish literary society, begun in East London in the Blitz, attending every Saturday afternoon for years.When as an adult Lichtenstein began to dig deeper, she realised that her family were part of a much larger and more extraordinary story, of the survival of Yiddish against seemingly impossible odds. Yiddish speakers defied the devastations of the twentieth century simply by speaking insistently in their mother tongue, over books and food, in cafés and cabarets, kosher luncheon clubs, Lyons tea shops and literary societies, like her grandparents and their elusive friend.Travelling from the East End across Germany and Poland to New York, from long-shuttered synagogues to suburban retirement homes and emptied villages, Lichtenstein excavates the vibrant Yiddish-speaking worlds her family and their friend once inhabited and the haunting absences that continue to resound within those places. But she also finds a new community of her own, redefining Jewish life in diaspora for a new generation.This is a record of exile and survival, erasure and recovery, displacement and return. It is an elegy to lost Jewish worlds, and a tribute to the resilience of a people and their language.

From the celebrated author of Rodinsky's Room and On Brick Lane, this is the story of Yiddish, its near destruction and astonishing survival. It is also the story of a penniless, charming writer on a mission to save his language, and a historian on a quest to follow him to the ends of a rapidly vanishing world. As a child, acclaimed author Rachel Lichtenstein heard stories of the émigré Polish poet from her grandparents. They had been regular members of his iconic Yiddish literary society, begun in East London in the Blitz, attending every Saturday afternoon for years.When as an adult Lichtenstein began to dig deeper, she realised that her family were part of a much larger and more extraordinary story, of the survival of Yiddish against seemingly impossible odds. Yiddish speakers defied the devastations of the twentieth century simply by speaking insistently in their mother tongue, over books and food, in cafés and cabarets, kosher luncheon clubs, Lyons tea shops and literary societies, like her grandparents and their elusive friend.Travelling from the East End across Germany and Poland to New York, from long-shuttered synagogues to suburban retirement homes and emptied villages, Lichtenstein excavates the vibrant Yiddish-speaking worlds her family and their friend once inhabited and the haunting absences that continue to resound within those places. But she also finds a new community of her own, redefining Jewish life in diaspora for a new generation.This is a record of exile and survival, erasure and recovery, displacement and return. It is an elegy to lost Jewish worlds, and a tribute to the resilience of a people and their language.

Brick Lane today is a place of extremes – a street that's constantly reinventing itself. Blending history and reportage with personal testimony and urban myths, and interspersing these with maps and photography, On Brick Lane is a one-of-a-kind chronicle of one of London's most remarkable streets.Bringing to life the memories and realities of Brick Lane's many communities, Rachel Lichtenstein harnesses the voices of the famous, the infamous and the obscure, merging memoir, reportage, poetry, photography and local history. The result is as vibrant and fascinating as the neighbourhood it so movingly celebrates.

LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2017A hauntingly beautiful social history of the Thames Estuary, from the author of On Brick LaneOut at the eastern edge of England, between land and ocean, you will find beautiful, haunted salt marshes, coastal shallows and wide-open skies: the Thames Estuary. The estuary is an ancient gateway to England, a passage for numberless travellers in and out of London. And for generations, the people of Kent and Essex have lived and worked on the Estuary, learning its waters, losing loved ones to its deeps. Their heritage is a proud but never an easy one. In the face of a world changing around them, they endure.Rachel Lichtenstein spent five years exploring this unique community and recording its extraordinary chorus of voices, present and past. From mud larkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, from buried princesses to unexploded bombs, Estuary is a celebration of a haunting & profoundly British place.

Brick Lane today is a place of extremes – a street that's constantly reinventing itself. Blending history and reportage with personal testimony and urban myths, and interspersing these with maps and photography, On Brick Lane is a one-of-a-kind chronicle of one of London's most remarkable streets.Bringing to life the memories and realities of Brick Lane's many communities, Rachel Lichtenstein harnesses the voices of the famous, the infamous and the obscure, merging memoir, reportage, poetry, photography and local history. The result is as vibrant and fascinating as the neighbourhood it so movingly celebrates.

Diamond Street is Rachel Lichtenstein's fascinating account of London's Hatton Garden.Enter Hatton Garden, one of London's most mysterious streets. Home to ancient burial sites, diamond workshops, underground vaults, monastic dynasties, subterranean rivers and forgotten palaces. Here you'll meet sewer flushers, artists, goldsmiths, geologists and visionaries as Rachel Lichtenstein uncovers the history, secrets and stories that bring this vibrant Clerkenwell street and its environs to life.Praise for Diamond Street: 'Fascinating. The great joy of Lichtenstein's books is that she encourages us to look again at the places we take for granted' Daily Telegraph'Vivid and amusing, containing so many sparkling things, elegantly organized. Lichtenstein consulted a whole gang of glorious characters, collecting tales, history and lore on her way. An overwhelming trove of stories with a multiplicity of facets to intrigue' Observer'Engrossing, a superb oral historian. Lichtenstein proves to be an indefatigable explorer' Sunday Times'Lichtenstein is an artist, writer, local historian and archivist and her multi-faceted approach makes fascinating reading. She make[s] us look with a fresh eye at familiar urban spaces' Independent on Sunday'Lichtenstein has brought alive something of London . . . how one street can be a kind of Tardis, a portal to another world of parallel commerce, codes, rituals, history. A heartfelt book full of curiosity and love' The Times'A lively and rewarding addition to the capital's rich history' IndependentRachel Lichtenstein is an artist and writer. She is the co-author, with Iain Sinclair, of Rodinsky's Room and the author, most recently, of On Brick Lane.

LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2017An immersive, intimate journey into the world of the Thames Estuary and the people who spend their lives thereThe Thames Estuary is one of the world's great deltas, providing passage in and out of London for millennia. It is silted up with the memories and artefacts of past voyages. It is the habitat for an astonishing range of wildlife. And for the people who live and work on the estuary, it is a way of life unlike any other - one most would not trade for anything, despites its dangers.Rachel Lichtenstein has travelled the length and breadth of the estuary many times and in many vessels, from hardy tug boats to stately pleasure cruisers to an inflatable dinghy. And during these crossing she has gathered an extraordinary chorus of voices: mudlarkers and fishermen, radio pirates and champion racers, the men who risk their lives out on the water and the women who wait on the shore.From the acclaimed author of Brick Lane and Rodinsky's Room, Estuary is a thoughtful and intimate portrait of a profoundly British place. With a clear eye and a sharp ear, Rachel Lichtenstein captures the essence of a community and an environment, examining how each has shaped and continues to shape the other.