The real history book on the Maid of Ludmir has since been written by Nathaniel Deutsch - highly recommended. Rabbi Winkler's book may be entertaining (I don't think, in fairness, he intended it to be regarded as history), but it should not be taken as telling the real story of this strange womean.
Historical fiction - not a biography:
Chana Rochel, the "Maiden of Ludmir," was an historical personage and yes, she was also a Hasidic Rebbe who counted learned rabbis among her many followers. Her remarkable story is well-known among Hasidim, and certainly deserves to be told to the general public. Unfortunately, Gershon Winkler was not the one to do it.
I was very disappointed in this book, which is a work of fiction that borders on fantasy, and comes mostly from Winkler's imagination. The Chana Rochel I know from the legends was a... more info
Excellent Book Relating to Jewish Women:
"They Called Her Rebbe" is an extraordinary book. Many individuals know of the movie "Yentl" starring Barbra Streisand. If you have enjoyed that movie, you will adore this book. Chana Rochel's story is about a woman who lived in the early 1800's in Eastern Europe (Russia) in a common Jewish shtetl (small village). She was unlike many other women of her time or even of today in the fact that she desired to study Torah and Talmud. This is uncommon to the degree that she desired within the Orthodox Jewish... more info
