pages release_date publisher author article_title isbn
238 pp 1875 baker , pratt & company belle k. abbott belle kendrick abbott
 1-4264-0331-3 , 9781426403316
belle kendrick abbott

isabella `` belle '' kendrick abbott -lrb- november 3 , 1842 -- december 27 , 1893 -rrb- was an american author from the deep south , whose only published novel , `` leah mordecai '' , was issued in 1875 .
a native of atlanta , she married benjamin f. abbott , and lived for many years on peachtree street , between cain street -lrb- subsequently renamed international boulevard -rrb- and harris street .
`` leah mordecai '' was published at christmastime 1875 , when abbott was 33 .
it is a coming of age story set in charleston , south carolina , during the 1850s , shortly before the civil war .
the title character , who is jewish , finds herself subjected to scorn and abuse by the jealous and grasping woman who marries her widowed father , a wealthy banker .
seeking relief from her unhappiness , leah only engenders further distress when , upon entering into marriage with an importunate gentile , she incurs the violent wrath of her father .
the author , who was not jewish , found herself unable to avoid stereotypes or convincingly portray detailed specifics as well as the mindset of contemporary jewish life .
