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Queen Esther

John Irving

"Esther Nacht is born in Vienna in 1905. Her father dies on board the ship to Portland, Maine; her mother is murdered by anti-Semites in Portland. Dr. Larch knows it won't be easy to find a Jewish family to adopt Esther; in fact, he won't find any family who'll adopt her. When Esther is fourteen, soon to be a ward of the state, Dr. Larch meets the Winslows, a philanthropic New England family with a history of providing foster care for unadopted orphans. The Winslows aren't Jewish, but they despise anti-Semitism. Esther's gratitude for the Winslows is unending; even as she retraces her roots back to Vienna, she never stops loving and protecting the Winslows. In the final chapter, set in Jerusalem in 1981, Esther Nacht is seventy-six"-- Provided by publisher.

GenresPhysiciansFictionOrphanagesJewish childrenJewish womenAntisemitism

409 pages, 2 editions

English edition · First published 2025 by Simon & Schuster · ISBN 9781501189449

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Editions

2 editions

English

  • Queen Esther · Simon & Schuster · 2025 · ISBN 9781501189449 · 1 reader This page
  • Queen Esther: A Novel · Simon & Schuster · 2026 · ISBN 9781501189456

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