Originally published in Harper’s Magazine in 1903 and 1904, Italian Fantasies is a 1910 work by British author Israel Zangwill (1864-1926). Highly recommended for those with an interest in Italy and Italian history. Contents include: Of Beauty, Faith, And Death - A Rhapsody By Way Of Prelude , Fantasia Napolitana - Being A Reverie Of Aquariums, Museums, And Dead Christs , The Carpenter’s Wife - A Capriccio , The Earth The Centre Of The Universe - Or The Absurdity Of Astronomy , Of Autocosms Without Facts - Or The Emptiness Of Religions , etc. Israel Zangwill was a leading figure in cultural Zionism during the 19th century, as well as close friend of father of modern political Zionism, Theodor Herzl. In later life, he renounced the seeking of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. A notable portion of Zangwill’s work concentrated on ghetto life and earned him the nickname
the Dickens of the Ghetto . Other notable works by this author include: Dreamers of the Ghetto (1898), Grandchildren of the Ghetto (1892 ), and Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People (1892). This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with an introductory chapter from English Humourists of To-Day by J. A. Hammerton.