Rocking horse
(Book)

"A novel Jewish life, Europe, 1881. A world comprised of primitive shtetls--and modern society. A world where atrocities pertaining to poor, dowry-less Jewish girls take place under the careful guise of 'goodhearted aid' for eligible families. An existence of good and evil and countless shades of gray in between... Hannah. Friday night sees her husband make Kiddush...and then walk to the concert hall to play Bach to a packed audience. Her daughter wants nothing more than to join the ranks of high society. And she, Hannah, is desperately trying to straddle two worlds... Felix. Always possessing a more spiritual nature, he discovers the more sordid side of humanity and of the times through his job at the newspaper. But then he is presented with the ultimate challenge of his job, in the form of subtle blackmail... Emmy. Up until now, her whole world has revolved around the latest fashions and trends, and pretty, frill-filled dreams of marriage. When she has a rude awakening, she must choose between falling into utter despair...and doing something for a higher cause. In Rocking horse, we follow a family pulled between shtetl and city, tradition and modernity. And as we do, we discover the silent tragedy of all those who become pawns in the hands of those greedy for money and power."--Amazon.com.