Two Worlds: An Edinburgh Jewish Childhood

David Daiches was born in Sunderland, England, but spent most of his childhood in Edinburgh, where his father was the chief rabbi of the community. Daiches’s memoir, Two Worlds, describes rich layers of intersecting identities: Jewish, Scottish, British, as well as the experiences of Jewish immigrants. Daiches himself became a leading scholar and critic, particularly in the fields of Scottish literature, culture, and history. After receiving his doctorate from Oxford, Daiches worked at universities across Britain and North America, most notably helping to found the English Department at the University of Sussex and serving as director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at Edinburgh University.