Isaac Bashevis Singer Books In Order

Publication Order of Manor Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Children's Books

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Literary Conversations Books

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Short Story Anthologies

Publication Order of Anthologies

Isaac Bashevis Singer was a noteworthy Polish American author, who was popular for writing science fiction, fantasy, and literature & fiction books. He is famous for winning the Nobel Prize in the year 1978 for his excellent work in the field of literature. Author Singer has a different form of his name in Polish, which is spelled as Icek Hersz Zynger. Singer used the first name of his mother as a pseudonym during the initial stages of his writing career and then expanded it later. Author Singer has played an important role in the Yiddish literary movement by writing & publishing only in the Yiddish language. Author Singer has won a couple of National Book Awards in United States. He was born on November 21, 1902, in Leocin village, located near Warsaw, Poland. Because of the military partitions under the rule of the Russian forces, Singer’s family shifted to a nearby town called Radzymin. Singer has mentioned it as his birthplace. Singer’s father and mother were both rabbi. Both the older siblings of author Singer, Israel Joshua Singer and Esther Kreitman were authors as well. Kreitman was the first one wrote stories in Singler’s family. In 1907, Singer’s family moved to Rabbi’s court, where his father served as the Yeshiva head. Due to the burning down of the Yeshiva’s building the next year the family had to move to Krochmalna when Singer was just 12 years old. Singer spent his initial days growing up on a street, located near Warsaw’s Jewish quarter. There, author Singer learned Yiddish while living among the Yiddish speaking Jewish people. Singer’s dad again worked as a rabbi, carrying out multiple functions as an arbitrator, spiritual leader, judge, and religious authority among the Jewish. The family of author Singer faced a lot of hardships at the time of the First World War. Eventually, they split up for the sake of safety.

Singer joined his younger brother named Moshe and his mother to move to the hometown of his mother, Bilgoraj. After his father became a rabbi once again in 1921, Singer came back to Warsaw. He tried learning Hebrew, but could not succeed. In 1923, Singer’s older brother helped him to get the job of a proofreader at the place he was working as an editor. Later, when the German invasion began, Singer migrated to US. Due to the migration, author Singer got separated from his first wife and son, only to reunite with them after 20 years in 1955. In the US, author Singer settled in the New York City. He began working as a columnist and journalist for a Jewish newspaper in the city. In 1938, Singer came across a German refugee named Alma Wassermann and got married to her. This woman filled Singer with a new form of energy, which helped him to return back to his prolific writing career. Along with publishing under the pseudonym of Bashevis, he used to publish his books under the pen names of D. Segal and Warszawski. Alma and Singer stayed together for many years and lived in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In 1981, author Singer was asked to deliver an addressing lecture at the Albay University, which presented an honorary doctorate to him. Singer’s death occurred on July 24, 1991, in Surfside, Florida. He suffered multiple strokes, which resulted in his death. He is cremated in Cedar Park Cemetery in New Jersey. There is a street named after him in Surfside. The Miami Univerisity has named an academic scholarship for its undergraduate students in Singer’s honor. His book, Enemies, a Love Story, was made into a movie of the same name in 1989. Another film was made based on his book, Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy. It starred Barbara Streisand in the lead role. Subsequently, the 1979 movie version of his novel, The Magician of Lublin, featured Alan Arkin, Shelley Winters, Valerie Perrine, Lou Jacobi, and Louise Fletcher in the main roles. The 2007 movie, Love Comes Lately, is also developed from a few short stories written by author Singer. This film stars actor Otto Tausig as the chief protagonist. The most fascinating film inspired from Singer’s writings is called Mr. Singer’s Nightmare. Bruce Davidson was the director of this 1974 film. The film is a fantasy and a documentary mixture of a half hour. Singer penned the script of this documentary and also played the main role.

An initial book written by Isaac Bashevis Singer is entitled ‘The Slave’. It was released by the Farrar, Straus & Giroux publication in 1988, after its original release in 1962. The main characters of this book are shown as Jacob and Wanda. At the start of the story, Jacob is introduced as a cowherd and slave living in a village in Poland. The story takes place in the 17th century, 4 years after the massacres in Chmielnicki. Jacob falls in love with the daughter of his master, named Wanda. When the master learns about this, he punishes and ransoms Jacob. But, in spite of all the tortures, he is not ready to forget Wanda. Finally, the two decide to run away and move to remote Jewish community. Jacob continuously feels the fear of losing Wanda, thinking that he has not done a good deed by taking Wanda away from her family. Also, he wonders what would happen if the real identity of Wanda is revealed to the members of the community. However, he stands firm with his promise of protecting her against all the odds, no matter how much the increasing violence threatens the well being of the couple.

Another exciting novel that author Singer has written is called ‘The Magician of Lublin’. This novel was released by the Penguin Books in 1979. Author Singer has set the story’s plot in Warsaw and Lublin in Poland. At the beginning of the book, it is depicted that Yasha is a magician, who performs tricks of sword swallowing, fire eating, and various other acrobatics. He is famous for his skills all over Poland. Yasha easily slips between the worlds as he is half Gentile and half Jewish. The freely thinking Yasha is supported by his observant wife, who is also his loyal assistant. She accompanies him to all the places Yasha goes to perform his magic tricks. With the increase of his popularity, Yasha engages in multiple affairs outside of his marriage. And later, he tries to escape from his own marriage and everything else that relates to his identity. Just when the Yasha’s exploits catch up with him, he makes a final attempt at escaping his old life. This book provides a psychological and haunting portrait of a desperate man.

2 Responses to “Isaac Bashevis Singer”

1. Bill Levin: 4 years ago

   Hi
   Do you know of a cookbook “Lentl” by IBSinger?
   Thanks
   Bill

   Reply
   • Graeme: 4 years ago

     Hi Bill – I can’t seem to find any details about it.

     Reply