Rozett to discuss Waldman novel inspired by the history of the Hungarian Gold Train

B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation continues its 2018-19 “Synagogue Scholars” series with a book discussion by Professor Martha Rozett of “Love and Treasure” by Ayelet Waldman.

Rozett will lead the conversation immediately following the congregation’s Friday, Jan. 11, Shabbat service. The service and program, open to all who wish to worship and learn, begin at 8 p.m.

B’nai Sholom is located at 420 Whitehall Road in Albany.

Waldman’s historical novel combines interlocking episodes from three times and places: 2013 in America and Hungary; 1945-1946 in an American Army camp in Salzburg; and 1913 in Vienna, where a sexually obsessed Freudian analyst gives the novel a satirical edge.

The book was inspired by the true history of the Hungarian Gold Train. The novel contains two love stories, a multi-faceted quest that involves a large cast of characters, a perspective on the plight of European Jews after the end of the Second World War, and a depiction of the shady trade in art objects stolen by the Nazis.

A Shakespeare scholar, Rozett’s most recent work is “When People Wrote Letters: A Family Chronicle” (The Troy Book Makers, 2011), a story told through family letters and autobiographies about the travels and careers of her mother and great aunt and about a romance threatened by the differences between New England Episcopalians and New York Jews.

Rozett frequently teaches contemporary historical fiction, including fiction on the history of the Jews, and lectures in the community at Bethlehem Institute for Lifelong Learning and at the Albany Public Library.  Rozett holds a doctorate in English from the University of Michigan.

Begun in 2004, the “Synagogue Scholars” series spotlights individuals in the Capital Region Jewish community who are recognized authorities in their fields.

For more information, visit www.bnaisholomalbany.org or contact the B’nai Sholom office:   or 518-482-5283.