Edmond de Rothschild

An absorbing portrait of Edmond de Rothschild, who defied his class to help build a nation—and found his identity in the process

Edmond de Rothschild (1845–1934) was born into one of the wealthiest families in history, but his legacy lies beyond banking, art, and aristocratic privilege. In this compelling biography, award-winning historian and journalist James McAuley tells the story of a man who defied his elite world to support a radical cause: the creation of a Jewish homeland.

Drawing on rare access to archives—including Rothschild’s own long-lost memoir—McAuley reveals how and why this reserved French aesthete became a driving force in the early Zionist settlement of Palestine. Rothschild’s journey from the salons of Paris to the fields of Eretz Israel is a tale of emotional awakening, political conviction, and personal transformation—of a man’s search for a cause and discovery of himself.
; In this revealing biography of Edmond de Rothschild (1845–1934), the French aristocrat who defied his elite world to support Zionism, James McAuley draws on rare archival material to reveal how Rothschild’s emotional journey helped shape modern Israel—and transformed him into one of its most unlikely founding figures.