Editing Israel Zangwill (section)

===Writings===
Zangwill published some of his works under the pen-names J. Freeman Bell (for works written in collaboration),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schneiderman |first=Harry |date=1928 |title=Israel Zangwill: a biographical sketch. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23601081 |journal=The American Jewish Year Book |volume=29 |pages=121–143 |jstor=23601081 }}</ref> and Countess von S. and Marshallik.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rochelson |first=Meri-Jane |title=A Jew in the Public Arena. The Career of Israel Zangwill. |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=2008 |isbn=9780814340837 |location=Detroit}}</ref>

He had already written a tale entitled ''The Premier and the Painter'' in collaboration with [[Louis Cowen]], when he resigned his position as a teacher at the Jews' Free School owing to differences with the school managers and ventured into journalism. He initiated and edited ''Ariel, The London Puck'', and did miscellaneous work for the London press.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Zangwill, Israel |volume=28 |page=956}}</ref>

[[File:TheMeltingpot1.jpg|thumb|right|Theatre Programme for the play ''[[The Melting Pot (play)|The Melting Pot]]'' (1916).]]
Zangwill's work earned him the nickname "the [[Charles Dickens|Dickens]] of the [[Jewish ghettos in Europe|Ghetto]]".<ref>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1895-08-25/ed-1/seq-16.pdf Israel Zangwill – A Sketch], by Emanuel Elzas; in the ''[[San Francisco Call]]''; published 25 August 1895; retrieved 14 May 2013; archived at the [[Library of Congress]]</ref> He wrote a very influential novel ''Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People'' (1892), which the late 19th-century English novelist [[George Gissing]] called "a powerful book".<ref>Coustillas, Pierre ed. London and the Life of Literature in Late Victorian England: the Diary of George Gissing, Novelist. Brighton: Harvester Press, 1978, p. 364.</ref>

The use of the metaphorical phrase "[[melting pot]]" to describe American absorption of immigrants was popularised by Zangwill's play ''[[The Melting Pot (play)|The Melting Pot]]'',<ref>Werner Sollers, ''Beyond Ethnicity: Consent and Descent in American Culture'' (1986), Chapter 3 "Melting Pots"</ref> a success in the United States in 1909–10. The theatrical work explored the themes of ethnic tensions and the idea of cultural assimilation in early 20th-century America.

When ''The Melting Pot'' opened in Washington, D.C., on 5 October 1908, former President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] leaned over the edge of his box and shouted "That's a great play, Mr. Zangwill. That's a great play."<ref>Guy Szuberla, "Zangwill's The Melting Pot Plays Chicago," ''Melus'', Vol. 20, No. 3, History and Memory. (Autumn, 1995), pp. 3–20.</ref> In 1912, Zangwill received a letter from Roosevelt in which Roosevelt wrote of ''The Melting Pot'' "That particular play I shall always count among the very strong and real influences upon my thought and my life."<ref>This passage is quoted on p.131 of "Theodore Roosevelt and the Idea of Race" by Thomas G. Dyer 1980 Louisiana State University Press (Paperback edition 1992). A footnote shows the letter to have been written on 27 November 1912. This letter is held in the Roosevelt Collection, Library of Congress.</ref>

The protagonist of the play is David Quixano, a Russian Jewish immigrant who arrives in New York City after the [[Kishinev pogrom]], in which his entire family is killed. He writes a great symphony named "The Crucible" expressing his hope for a world in which all ethnicity has melted away, and becomes enamored of a beautiful Russian Christian immigrant named Vera. The dramatic climax of the play is the moment when David meets Vera's father, who turns out to be the Russian officer responsible for the annihilation of David's family. Vera's father admits guilt, the symphony is performed to accolades, and David and Vera agree to wed and kiss as the curtain falls.

"''Melting Pot'' celebrated America's capacity to absorb and grow from the contributions of its immigrants."<ref>Kraus, Joe, "How The Melting Pot Stirred America: The Reception of Zangwill's Play and Theater's Role in the American Assimilation Experience," ''Melus'', Vol. 24, No. 3, Varieties of Ethnic Criticism. (Autumn, 1999), pp. 3–19.</ref> Zangwill was writing as "a Jew who no longer wanted to be a Jew. His real hope was for a world in which the entire lexicon of racial and religious difference is thrown away."<ref>[[Jonathan Sacks]] ''The Home We Build Together'', Continium Books, 2007, p. 26</ref>

However, the play also addresses the challenges and conflicts that arise when different ethnic groups collide. It portrays the tensions between the Jewish and Christian communities, as well as the struggles of immigrants to find their place in a new society while preserving their cultural heritage.

"The Melting Pot" resonated with audiences during its time, as it captured the spirit of the American immigrant experience and explored issues of assimilation, identity, and the potential for a unified nation. The play contributed to the discourse on multiculturalism and the American identity, and it remains a significant work in the context of American theater and the portrayal of ethnic tensions on stage.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shumsky |first=Neil Larry |date=1975 |title=Zangwill's 'The Melting Pot': Ethnic Tensions on Stage |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2711893 |journal=American Quarterly |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=29–41 |doi=10.2307/2711893 |jstor=2711893 |issn=0003-0678|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Zangwill wrote many other plays, including, on Broadway, ''[[Children of the Ghetto (1899 play)|Children of the Ghetto]]'' (1899), a dramatization of his own novel, directed by [[James A. Herne]] and starring [[Blanche Bates]], [[Ada Dwyer Russell|Ada Dwyer]], and [[Wilton Lackaye]]; ''[[Merely Mary Ann (play)|Merely Mary Ann]]'' (1903) and ''Nurse Marjorie'' (1906), both of which were directed by Charles Cartwright and starred [[Eleanor Robson Belmont|Eleanor Robson]]. Liebler & Co. produced all three plays as well as ''The Melting Pot''. [[Daniel Frohman]] produced Zangwill's 1904 play ''The Serio-Comic Governess'', featuring [[Cecilia Loftus]], Kate Pattison-Selten, and [[Julia Dean (actress, born 1878)|Julia Dean]].<ref>Burns Mantle and Garrison P. Sherwood, eds., ''The Best Plays of 1899–1909'', pp. 351, 449, 465–466, 521–522.</ref> In 1931, [[Jules Furthman]] adapted ''[[Merely Mary Ann]]'' for a movie with [[Janet Gaynor]].

Zangwill's simulation of Yiddish sentence structure in English aroused great interest. He also wrote mystery works, such as ''[[The Big Bow Mystery]]'' (1892), and social satire, such as ''[[The King of Schnorrers]]'' (1894), a [[picaresque novel]] (which became a short-lived musical comedy in 1979). His ''Dreamers of the Ghetto'' (1898) includes essays on famous Jews such as [[Baruch Spinoza]], [[Heinrich Heine]] and [[Ferdinand Lassalle]].

''The Big Bow Mystery'' was one of the first [[locked room mystery]] novels. It has been almost continuously in print since 1891 and has been used as the basis for three movies.<ref name=MJR>{{cite journal|jstor=1487027|title=Review of Dreamer of the Ghetto: The Life and Works of Israel Zangwill|first=Meri-Jane|last=Rochelson|date=1 January 1992|journal=AJS Review|volume=17|issue=1|pages=120–123|doi=10.1017/S0364009400012083}}</ref>
[[File:Signed drawing of Israel Zangwill by Manuel Rosenberg 1924.jpg|thumb|Signed drawing by [[Manuel Rosenberg]] 1924]]
Another much produced play was ''The Lens Grinder'', based on the life of [[Baruch Spinoza|Spinoza]].
[[File:Israel Zangwill by George Wylie Hutchinson.png|thumb|Israel Zangwill by his friend and illustrator George Wylie Hutchinson]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dfPdAwAAQBAJ&q=Israel+Zangwill+%22george+hutchinson%22&pg=PA43|title=A Jew in the Public Arena: The Career of Israel Zangwill|first=Meri-Jane|last=Rochelson|date= 2010|publisher=Wayne State University Press|isbn=9780814340837|via=Google Books}}{{page?|date=December 2024}}</ref>