Memoirs

Devastated by the death of ḥayim, her husband of thirty years, Glikl (Glükel) bas Leyb Hamel—at the time forty-four years old—began writing a memoir of their life together. She is known because of this book-length work, written in the Yiddish vernacular of the time. Mixing family history, moral parables, business advice, and more, the book is not just a simple memoir of events. Glikl spent most of her life in Hamburg, where, in partnership with ḥayim, she dealt successfully in merchandise, including fine jewels, and in credit transactions. The couple had fourteen children, of whom twelve lived to adulthood. Ten years after ḥayim’s death, Glikl married a widower from Metz and lived the rest of her life there.