Marienbad & Beyond
Published by David Leitner, $29.95, 536 pp
The small town of Marienbad, once a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire but now in the Czech Republic, earned its place in Yiddish literature thanks to a satirical piece by Sholem Aleichem in which he poked fun at nouveau-riche Warsaw Jews who imitated the aristocratic custom of spending summers at spa resorts in order to enjoy its healing mineral waters.
Before World War I, Marienbad was a popular resort for the highest rank of society. In 1907, the English king Edward VII and the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph had their so-called Meeting of the Monarchs there.