“Style and Seduction” is an engaging, creative …

“Style and Seduction” is an engaging, creative and innovative study into the world of the Jewish bourgeoisie in Vienna in the fin de siècle. Shapira challenges a well-known essay by Ernst Gombrich on this theme, and evokes a much more colorful and provocative interpretation. The author unearths associations and interpretations on Jews and non-Jews, antisemitic overtones and visual designs that together bring alive the worlds of Vienna that entertained at the turn of the century many imaginative, hidden and evocative agendas, and personalities — Jews and non-Jews. Her book is bound to arouse attention and discussion.