West to Eden
Description
West to Eden is the engrossing and dramatic story of one woman's struggle to forge a new life in Amsterdam in 1897, as beautiful and sensitive Emma Coen suffers betrayal by both her father and her lover. Determined to control her own destiny, Emma leaves Amsterdam, accepting a position as a companion to the wife of one of the leaders of Jewish society in London. When she hears of financier Jacob Schiff's plans to promote Jewish settlement in the American West, where Jews will be pioneers rather than refugees, Emma is inspired. She sets sail for Galveston, Texas, home to a small but thriving Jewish community, and there meets Isaac Lewin, the wary and embittered survivor of a Russian pogrom. In spite of her strong attraction to Isaac, Emma remains aloof, fearing the loss of her hard-won independence. But the tidal wave of 1900, which devastates Galveston Island, leaves both Emma and Isaac shaken and keenly aware that life cannot be lived in safety. Still haunted by their pasts, and conscious of the disparity in their backgrounds, Emma and Isaac are swept away by passion, and they marry, settling in Arizona. In the desert hamlet of Phoenix, newly proclaimed capital of the territory, they open a tent store. Calling on abundant reserves of ambition, courage and entrepreneurial daring, Emma and Isaac work together to transform the tent store into one of the West's largest and most successful department stores. Yet neither their material success nor their deep pride in their four talented children is enough to bridge the emotional gap between them, and their relationship grows ever more distant. Both Isaac and Emma seek solace in extramarital affairs, even as they are unwilling to break up their troubled marriage. It is only when Emma finds herself caught up in the enchanted life of San Francisco's "gilded ghetto" that she at last confronts the reality of her life and marriage. Set against the backdrop of Arizona's fight for statehood and the cataclysms of the First World War and the Great Depression, West to Eden chronicles a fascinating, largely unknown part of the Jewish immigrant experience. Drawing on the breadth of imagination and the faithfulness to detail that her readers have come to expect, Gloria Goldreich has created characters of rich complexity...and an unforgettable novel.
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ISBN:
9780025444003
9781949135947
9781949135947
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 221610a4-59cb-29c6-5980-3f7a50f3dd87 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | west to eden |
Grouping Author | gloria goldreich |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-03-10 17:15:17PM |
Last Indexed | 2024-05-05 22:28:33PM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Goldreich, Gloria
author2-role
hoopla digital
author_display
Goldreich, Gloria
available_at_western
Western Colorado University
collection_western
General
detailed_location_western
WCU Book Stacks
display_description
West to Eden is the engrossing and dramatic story of one woman's struggle to forge a new life in Amsterdam in 1897, as beautiful and sensitive Emma Coen suffers betrayal by both her father and her lover. Determined to control her own destiny, Emma leaves Amsterdam, accepting a position as a companion to the wife of one of the leaders of Jewish society in London. When she hears of financier Jacob Schiff's plans to promote Jewish settlement in the American West, where Jews will be pioneers rather than refugees, Emma is inspired. She sets sail for Galveston, Texas, home to a small but thriving Jewish community, and there meets Isaac Lewin, the wary and embittered survivor of a Russian pogrom. In spite of her strong attraction to Isaac, Emma remains aloof, fearing the loss of her hard-won independence. But the tidal wave of 1900, which devastates Galveston Island, leaves both Emma and Isaac shaken and keenly aware that life cannot be lived in safety. Still haunted by their pasts, and conscious of the disparity in their backgrounds, Emma and Isaac are swept away by passion, and they marry, settling in Arizona. In the desert hamlet of Phoenix, newly proclaimed capital of the territory, they open a tent store. Calling on abundant reserves of ambition, courage and entrepreneurial daring, Emma and Isaac work together to transform the tent store into one of the West's largest and most successful department stores. Yet neither their material success nor their deep pride in their four talented children is enough to bridge the emotional gap between them, and their relationship grows ever more distant. Both Isaac and Emma seek solace in extramarital affairs, even as they are unwilling to break up their troubled marriage. It is only when Emma finds herself caught up in the enchanted life of San Francisco's "gilded ghetto" that she at last confronts the reality of her life and marriage. Set against the backdrop of Arizona's fight for statehood and the cataclysms of the First World War and the Great Depression, West to Eden chronicles a fascinating, largely unknown part of the Jewish immigrant experience. Drawing on the breadth of imagination and the faithfulness to detail that her readers have come to expect, Gloria Goldreich has created characters of rich complexity...and an unforgettable novel.
format_category_western
Books
format_western
Book
id
221610a4-59cb-29c6-5980-3f7a50f3dd87
isbn
9780025444003
9781949135947
9781949135947
itype_western
Book
last_indexed
2024-05-06T04:28:33.970Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Fiction
literary_form_full
Fiction
local_callnumber_western
PS3557.O3845 W4
owning_library_western
Western Colorado University
owning_location_western
Western Colorado University
primary_isbn
9780025444003
publishDate
1987
2022
2022
publisher
Macmillan Pub. Co
Untreed Reads
Untreed Reads
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Electronic books
Fiction
Fiction
title_display
West to Eden
title_full
West to Eden / Gloria Goldreich
West to Eden [electronic resource] / Gloria Goldreich
West to Eden [electronic resource] / Gloria Goldreich
title_short
West to Eden
topic_facet
Electronic books
Solr Details Tables
item_details
Bib Id | Item Id | Shelf Loc | Call Num | Format | Format Category | Num Copies | Is Order Item | Is eContent | eContent Source | eContent URL | Detailed Status | Last Checkin | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b14396099 | .i40462134 | WCU Book Stacks | PS3557.O3845 W4 | 1 | false | false | On Shelf | wsst | |||||
hoopla:MWT15421150 | Online Hoopla Collection | Online Hoopla | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | Hoopla | https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/15421150?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435 | Available Online |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b14396099 | Book | Books | English | Macmillan Pub. Co | [1987] | 418 pages ; 25 cm | ||
hoopla:MWT15421150 | eBook | eBook | English | Untreed Reads | 2022 | 1 online resource (730 pages) |
scoping_details_western
Bib Id | Item Id | Grouped Status | Status | Locally Owned | Available | Holdable | Bookable | In Library Use Only | Library Owned | Holdable PTypes | Bookable PTypes | Local Url |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b14396099 | .i40462134 | On Shelf | On Shelf | false | true | true | false | false | true | 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 |