The Rabbi's Atheist Daughter: Ernestine Rose, International Feminist Pioneer

by Bonnie S. Anderson

Known as "the queen of the platform," Ernestine Rose was more famous than her women's rights co-workers, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. By the 1850s, Rose had become an outstanding orator for feminism, free thought, and anti-slavery. Yet, she would gradually be erased from history for being too much of an outlier: an immigrant, a radical, and an atheist.

In The Rabbi's Atheist Daughter, Bonnie S. Anderson recovers the unique life and career of Ernestine Rose. The only child of a Polish rabbi, Ernestine Rose rejected religion at an early age, successfully sued for the return of her dowry after rejecting an arranged betrothal, and left her family, Judaism, and Poland forever. In London, she became a follower of socialist Robert Owen and met her future husband, William Rose. Together they emigrated to New York in 1836. In the United States, Ernestine Rose rapidly became a leader in movements against slavery, religion, and women's oppression and a regular on the lecture circuit, speaking in twenty-three of the thirty-one states. She challenged the radical Christianity that inspired many nineteenth-century women reformers and yet, even as she rejected Judaism, she was both a victim and critic of antisemitism, as well as nativism. In 1869, after the Civil War, she and her husband returned to England, where she continued her work for radical causes. By the time women achieved the vote, for which she tirelessly advocated throughout her long career, her pioneering contributions to women's rights had been forgotten.

The Rabbi's Atheist Daughter restores Ernestine Rose to her rightful place in history and offers an engaging account of her international activism.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Feminism

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Wciągam Książki Nosem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wspaniała postać, niezwykła kobieta, świetna mówczyni, sufrażystka, abolicjonistka i ateistka w czasach, kiedy kobiety nie miały praktycznie żadnych praw i głoszenie tak radykalnych opinii stanowiło nie tylko przejaw samodzielnego, krytycznego myślenia, ale też akt odwagi. Dlatego warto przeczytać tę książkę, choć sama w sobie nie jest powalająca. Nie wiem, jak w oryginale, ale w polskim wydaniu mnóstwo drobnych błędów, jeśli chodzi o datowanie, możliwe, że to kiksy wynikające z pośpiechu, no i literówek. Ale dla Ernestyny Potowskiej-Rose zdecydowanie warto przeczytać.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dominance in the public imagination of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott as the preeminent figures of the 19th century women's suffrage movement in the United States often obscures the role played by many other women in advancing the cause of women's rights during that era. One of them was Ernestine Rose, an immigrant from Poland by way of Great Britain who as a writer and platform speaker campaigned for many of the leading reform causes of the mid-19th century. Yet this was just one stage in a long career that straddled the Atlantic, reflecting many of the common issues that activists fought for in Europe as well as America.

Bonnie Anderson's book provides readers with a brisk account of Rose's career and achievements. In it, she recounts Rose's life from her upbringing in Poland, where her father's commitment to educating her led her to question and ultimately renounce her Jewish faith. As a young woman in England she embraced the teachings of the English reformer Robert Owen, her involvement with whom led her to emigrate to the United States in 1836. From her home in New York City Rose traversed the country advocating for such cases as free thought and abolition, though it was her advocacy of women's rights for which she became best known. While her efforts to end slavery were achieved with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, the subsequent fracturing of the women's rights movement in the U.S. led Rose and her husband to return to Britain, where continued her campaigns for women's suffrage to the end of her life.

By detailing the range of Rose's interests and efforts, Anderson restores Rose to her proper place in the story of the women's rights movement. While constrained by the paucity of sources about Rose's early life, she draws conclusions from the context of her times to fill in several of the gaps, helping to underscore the remarkable nature of Rose's achievements in the process. The result is an account of Rose's life that gives her the credit she deserves for her tireless efforts on behalf of the causes which she held so dear.

[Anna]

Review forthcoming in Library Journal. A straightforward biography of under-studied nineteenth-century women's rights activist, abolitionist, and freethinker Ernestine Rose. The book does what it can with a very limited body of primary sources relating directly to Rose's life, but I wish the author had done more to answer the "so what?" of why renewed attention to this unique figure matters -- I can think of several current threads of historiography she fits into, but wanted the author to do some of that work on the reader's behalf. Rose will be of interest to those exploring nineteenth-century atheism, international feminist networks, and intellectual histories of social justice activism.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lesser known abolitionist and suffragette, but equally important as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

[Navida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating historical character and interesting to know about the Owenites. Very heavily researched and reads like a text book. Lots of quotes of speeches. It was too long, going over the same ground. Rose was a deeply private person so there is very little factual material available. Would have been interesting if the book been a dual biography of Ernestine Rose and Fanny Wright. Both feminist pioneers. Wanted to know more about Wright.

[Guy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good biography based on mostly indirect information since Rose did not speak much about herself.
Strong woman who was apparently a great and forceful speaker against slavery, sexism and religion. The latter seems to have had an impact on her recognition through the years although other that followed and modeled themselves on Rose became more well known.
Interesting little-known historical person who does not get the acclaim she deserves.

[char · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review on the S-USIH blog: usih.org/2019/09/review-of-the-rabbis...

[Mills College Library]

Biog R7958a 2017