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3 unusual facts about Bernice Rubens


Bernice Rubens

Her 1985 novel, Mr Wakefield's Crusade, was adapted for television by the BBC in 1992, starring Peter Capaldi and Michael Maloney.

This book was based on the experiences of her brother Harold Rubens, a child prodigy pianist, and his teacher Madame Maria Levinskaya, who inspired the character of Madame Sousatzka.

Harold Rubens

At the age of seven having, according to his sister Bernice Rubens, “exhausted all the local teachers”, Harold began travelling to London to study with Madame Maria Levinskaya.


Gerda Charles

She is regarded as one of the chroniclers of the Anglo-Jewish experience, alongside writers such as Emanuel Litvinoff, Bernice Rubens, Bernard Kops and Arnold Wesker.


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