The Hidden Saint

by Mark Levenson

Overview

THIS NEW FANTASY NOVEL TAKES READERS TO A WORLD THEY'VE NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE, IN WHICH THE VAST SWEEP OF JEWISH MYTH AND MAGIC IS COMPLETELY REAL.

The historical horrors of eighteenth-century Eastern Europe are interwoven with fantastic creatures drawn from 3,500 years of Jewish myth and magic. For the first time, THE HIDDEN SAINT conjures up a very human origin story for one of the greatest superheroes of Jewish folklore: Rabbi Adam, famous for battling wizards, witches, and demons.

The story opens on a long-awaited family wedding, which turns to horror as Rabbi Adam's children are abducted by an ancient supernatural evil.

To save them, the rabbi is joined by a golem, a man of clay pained by the burden of living among, but always apart from, humans. He's goaded and mentored by an elderly, wisecracking housekeeper who is secretly one of the thirty-six hidden saints, or Lamed-Vavniks, upon whom the fate of the world depends.

And he's blessed and challenged by his wife, Sarah, who leads him to a garden named Eden.

As tidal waves and fires ravage the earth and the very stars above begin to disappear, can Rabbi Adam and his companions succeed in time?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781685120504
Publisher:	Level Best Books
Publication date:	02/22/2022
Pages:	312
Sales rank:	514,152
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Mark Levenson is an award-winning dramatist, screenwriter, and short-story writer, as well as a longtime journalist. His Jewish-themed fantasy writing has won honors from The National Foundation for Jewish Culture and the American Jewish University, as well as a Union Internationale de la Marionnette-USA Citation of Excellence, an award founded by Jim Henson. Levenson's novel, The Hidden Saint, is the culmination of his more than 20 years of engagement with Jewish folklore. Levenson wrote The Return of the Golem and The Wise Men of Chelm for the stage, and adapted S. Ansky's The Dybbuk for actors and puppets. His Jewish-themed short fiction credits include Mystery Weekly Magazine, Kindle Kzine, and Ami Magazine. He also blogs about Jewish fantasy for The Times of Israel. Levenson began his career as a reporter for The Miami Herald and Dun's Review. He has written for New York Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Forward, The Jewish Week, the Associated Press, Puppetry International, Stevens Magic, The American Kennel Club Gazette, The Oregonian, and others. He heads the marketing and PR firm The Levenson Company, whose clients have included Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, and Cigna. Levenson served as director of press relations for The Wharton School at Penn, and director of public relations for the Oregon Art Institute. He also served on the boards of the Jim Henson Foundation and the American Jewish Committee. Perhaps Levenson's interests in fantasy and folklore are in his blood; his paternal grandmother was a magician, Lightfingers Ida, whose tutelage sparked his lifelong interest in magic. His great-great-uncle (on his mother's side) was a strongman in a Russian circus who could hold back galloping horses and survive sledgehammer blows by peasants who smashed rocks on his chest, except for the last time. Although Levenson's physique gives no hint of this lineage, it was a circus sideshow that sparked another lifelong interest, that of puppetry. Levenson writes for and about puppet theatre, was guest curator and catalog author for the exhibition Winners' Circle at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, and a contributor to the World Encyclopedia of Puppetry. He was the featured Punch & Judy performer at the Philadelphia festival marking the 250th anniversary of the first performance of that classic puppet play in America. Levenson was graduated from Cornell University. He and his family live in Westchester County, New York.