author
Bruno Lessing
1870–1940
A sharp, funny observer of immigrant New York, this early 20th-century writer turned Lower East Side life into stories full of warmth, wit, and feeling. Writing as Bruno Lessing, he drew on journalism as well as fiction to capture the voices and struggles of Jewish American city life.
1 Audiobook
Children of Men
by Bruno Lessing
About the author
Born Rudolph Edgar Block in New York City in 1870, he wrote much of his fiction under the pen name Bruno Lessing. He studied at the College of the City of New York and worked as a reporter before building a long career in newspapers and magazines.
Lessing is best remembered for stories about Jewish immigrant life in New York, especially on the Lower East Side. His work often mixed humor with sympathy, paying close attention to everyday speech, family tensions, ambition, and the pressures of starting over in America.
Alongside his literary writing, he was active in journalism and is also noted for his work in the newspaper world, including comic supplements. He died in 1940, leaving behind a body of writing that offers a lively, human picture of urban immigrant experience in the United States.