 The 2008 translation book cover | |
| Author | Sholem Aleichem |
|---|---|
| Published | 1888 |
| Media type | |
Stempenyu: A Jewish Novel (Yiddish: סטעמפּעניו אַ ייִדישער ראָמאַן Stempenyu, A Yidisher Roman) is an 1888 Yiddish Language novel by Sholem Aleichem based loosely on the life of klezmer violinist Stempenyu. It his first novel and remained one of his most popular; it was reprinted multiple times and adapted into various stage and film versions, including a play with music composed by Joseph Achron and one adapted by Sholem Aleichem himself for Boris Thomashefsky's theatre.[1][2][3]
The novel says that name of the title character comes from the village of Stempenyu, from which his father hailed. However there was a real Stempenyu, on whom the novel was loosely based.
The novel is dedicated to Mendele Mocher Sforim to whom the author wrote a letter with the dedication, addressing to Mendele "dear grandfather".
The novel was adapted in 1905 as the play Jewish Daughters (Yidishe Tekhter).
- ^ Adler, Cyrus; Singer, Isidore (1901). The Jewish encyclopedia: a descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the Jewish people from the earliest times to the present day. Funk and Wagnalls. p. 302. hdl:2027/mdp.39015064245429.
- ^ Walden, Joshua S. (2014). "The 'Yidishe Paganini': Sholem Aleichem's "Stempenyu", the Music of Yiddish Theatre and the Character of the "Shtetl" Fiddler". Journal of the Royal Musical Association. 139 (1): 89–136. doi:10.1080/02690403.2014.886428. ISSN 0269-0403. JSTOR 43303359. S2CID 162236197.
- ^ Gittleman, Sol (2018). "II. The Poet of the People". Sholom Aleichem: A Non-Critical Introduction. Boston: De Gruyter. p. 46. doi:10.1515/9783110888850-003. ISBN 9783110888850.