Tanisha R at 19:19, 28 March 2026

2026-03-28T19:19:26Z

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{{Short description|Collection of letters by Sir Martin Gilbert}}
{{Infobox book
| italic title = 
| name = Letters to Auntie Fori
| image = Letters to Auntie Fori book cover.jpg
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| author = [[Martin Gilbert|Sir Martin Gilbert]]
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| country = UK
| language = English
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| genre = [[History]]
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| publisher = [[Orion Publishing Group]]
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| published = 2002
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| pages = 460
| awards =
| isbn = 0-75381-693-8
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'''''Letters to Auntie Fori''''' (2002) is a collection of letters collated in a book by [[Martin Gilbert|Sir Martin Gilbert]] to [[Fori Nehru]], explaining the history of Jewish people over the course of 5,000 years. It was published by [[Orion Publishing Group]] in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |last=Benjamin |first=Ivry |date=2 May 2017 |title=Shobha Nehru, A Quiet Witness To History, Dies At 108 |url=https://forward.com/culture/370650/shobha-nehru-a-quiet-witness-to-history-dies-at-108/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124143825/https://forward.com/culture/370650/shobha-nehru-a-quiet-witness-to-history-dies-at-108/ |archive-date=24 November 2023 |access-date=24 November 2023 |website=The Forward |language=en}}</ref>

==Background==
[[Fori Nehru]] met [[Martin Gilbert]] in 1958.<ref name="Gilbert2002"/> He was a friend of her son Ashok, from university days, and later historian and official biographer of [[Winston Churchill]].<ref name="Gilbert2002"/> When Gilbert arrived at the Nehru home that year he was unwell, and he later recounted that she successfully nursed him to recovery with rice and yoghurt.<ref name="Gilbert2002"/> They continued to keep in touch but did not see each other again until 40 years later in 1998.<ref name="Gilbert2002"/> He referred to the Nehru's as Auntie Fori and [[Braj Kumar Nehru|uncle Birju]], and until 1998 had no idea she was from [[history of the Jews in Hungary|Budapest's Jewish community]].<ref name=Gilbert2002>{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=Martin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-0aDAAAQBAJ |title=The Story of the Jewish People: Letters to Auntie Fori |date=2002 |publisher=Phoenix |isbn=0-75381-693-8 |location=London |pages=xiii-xvii |language=en |chapter=Introduction}}</ref><ref name=Barry2017>{{cite news |last1=Barry |first1=Ellen |title=Shobha Nehru Dies at 108; Escaped Holocaust and Married Into Indian Politics |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/world/asia/shobha-nehru-death.html |access-date=26 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303115257/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/world/asia/shobha-nehru-death.html|archive-date=3 March 2022|work=The New York Times |date=29 April 2017|url-access=subscription}}</ref> She asked him to recommend a book about the history of Jews.<ref name=Gilbert2002/><ref name=Alderman2012>{{cite news |last1=Alderman |first1=Geoffrey |date=26 April 2002 |title=Diaspora tales |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/apr/27/historybooks.highereducation |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124143546/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/apr/27/historybooks.highereducation |archive-date=24 November 2023}}</ref> In response, he wrote her one letter every week for 140 weeks, each addressed "Dear Auntie Fori", tracing the course of Jewish history over 5,000 years.<ref name=Gilbert2002/><ref name=Gilbert2020>{{cite web |date=1 July 2020 |title=Sir Martin's Letters to Auntie Fori |url=https://www.martingilbert.com/blatt/auntie-fori/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124063714/https://www.martingilbert.com/blatt/auntie-fori/ |archive-date=24 November 2023 |access-date=3 March 2022 |website=Sir Martin Gilbert}}</ref> The letters were collectively published in the book titled ''Letters to Auntie Fori: The 5,000-Year History of the Jewish People and Their Faith''.<ref name=Gilbert2002/><ref name=Gilbert2020/>

==Layout==
The book is divided into four parts, preceded by acknowledgments and an introduction, and followed by an epilogue, appendix, bibliography, maps, and an index.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=Martin |title=Letters to Auntie Fori : the 5000-year history of the Jewish people and their faith |date=2002 |publisher=New York : Schocken Books |isbn=978-0-8052-4188-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/letterstoauntief0000gilb/mode/2up}}

[[Category:2002 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:History books about Jews and Judaism]]
[[Category:Collections of letters]]

{{jewish-hist-book-stub}}

Letters to Auntie Fori - Revision history

Tanisha R at 19:19, 28 March 2026