author
Gertrude Landa
Best remembered for retelling Jewish folklore for young readers, this British writer brought warmth, imagination, and a strong sense of cultural tradition to her stories. Writing as “Aunt Naomi,” she also worked as a journalist and playwright.
1 Audiobook
Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends
by Gertrude Landa
About the author
Born Annie Gertrude Gordon in 1881 and later known as Gertrude Landa, she was a British Jewish journalist, novelist, and playwright. She wrote under the pen name Aunt Naomi and is especially associated with Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends, a collection that helped introduce generations of readers to stories drawn from Jewish tradition.
She came from a literary family: she was the sister of writer Samuel Gordon, and she married the Anglo-Jewish writer Myer Jack Landa. Sources also describe her as a contributor to the Jewish Chronicle, where she wrote for children, and note that she collaborated on novels and plays.
Landa died in 1941. What still stands out about her work is the welcoming way she reshaped folklore and religious legend into lively, readable storytelling for younger audiences.