A fascinating investigation into a historic crime that sheds new light on Jewish history. In 1734, a trader turned smuggler named Jacob Harris murdered three people in a pub in Sussex. This triple murder, for which he was executed and hanged, remains the most violent crime ever committed by a British Jew. However, today it has almost been forgotten. In the book “The Jewish Trader,” Tony Kusner searches for the enigmatic Harris. Exploring a remarkable variety of sources—from legal archives and newspaper reports to ballads and folklore—he traces the myth of Harris across three centuries of British history.

With this journey, he reconstructs the world of Jewish traders and criminals across multiple continents. The lives these individuals experienced on the margins of society paint a picture of persistent anti-Semitism, but also astonishing integration. Mentally daring and deeply human, “The Jewish Trader” approaches a new, grassroots perspective on Jewish history in the modern world, shedding light on everyday life from the Enlightenment era to the Holocaust and beyond.

Pages: 344, Year of Publication: 0827, Dimensions: 15.6x15.6cm