Doris Orgel (1929–2021)
Author of The Devil in Vienna
About the Author
Doris Orgel was born Doris Adelberg in Vienna, Austria on February 15, 1929. She is the author of numerous children's books including Ariadne, Awake!, We Goddesses, and My Mother's Daughter. The Devil in Vienna received a Phoenix Award Honor in 1998. Her books Sarah's Room and Dwarf Long-Nose were show more illustrated by Maurice Sendak. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Doris Orgel
Next Time I Will: An Old English Tale (Bank Street Ready-to-Read, Level 1) (1993) 23 copies, 2 reviews
Associated Works
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 11, July 1975 — Translator — 2 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 10, June 1977 — Translator — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Adelberg, Doris (birth name)
Altman, Suzanne (joint pseudonym) - Birthdate
- 1929-02-15
- Date of death
- 2021-08-04
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Radcliffe College
Barnard College (BA, cum laude|1950) - Occupations
- translator (German)
children's book author
poet - Short biography
- Doris Orgel, née Adelberg, was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria. Her parents were Ernst and Erna Adelberg, and she had an older sister, Charlotte. In 1938, they fled the country to escape Nazi persecution. After a long journey and stays in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, and London, England, the family was able to emigrate to the USA in 1939.
Doris attended Radcliffe College from 1946 to 1948, and graduated cum laude from Barnard College in 1950. She became an award-winning children's author.
Her first original book, Sarah's Room (1963), was illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
Doris Orgel was best known for her semi-autobiographical novel The Devil in Vienna (1978), which received a Golden Kite Honor Book Award, Sydney Taylor Book Award, and was named a Phoenix Award Honor Book. It was adapted into a 1988 Disney Channel film called A Friendship in Vienna. She also translated children's books from German to English. Two of her translations, Nero Corleone: a Cat's Story by Elke Heidenreich, and Daniel Half Human by David Chotjewitz, were named Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Books. She was married to Shelley Orgel, a physician specializing in psychoanalysis, with whom she had three children. - Nationality
- Austria (birth)
USA - Birthplace
- Vienna, Austria
- Places of residence
- Vienna, Austria
Yugoslavia
Zagreb, Croatia
Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Scarsdale, New York, USA - Place of death
- New York, USA
Members
Reviews
So, yeah, five stars for the art. I love the modern Chinese people. Four stars for the way the story is told, with the frame, and the graceful language (Orgel, of course), the wit.... Three stars for the story itself, because I cannot understand why Nai Nai bribed Willow to make up with her, instead of teaching Willow that she was being bratty.
What's most interesting about the art, imo, is that it is obviously influenced by Chinese tradition, but it also reminds me very much of Ukrainian show more art. Fans of [a:Patricia Polacco|46688|Patricia Polacco|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1289113186p2/46688.jpg] and of pysanky will probably love it. I also appreciate the details like the grandmother's outfit, and the pout on Willow's face, for example. show less
What's most interesting about the art, imo, is that it is obviously influenced by Chinese tradition, but it also reminds me very much of Ukrainian show more art. Fans of [a:Patricia Polacco|46688|Patricia Polacco|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1289113186p2/46688.jpg] and of pysanky will probably love it. I also appreciate the details like the grandmother's outfit, and the pout on Willow's face, for example. show less
Jenny's favorite aunt was a German-Jewish refuge, hosted in Surrey, during WWII. Orgel was, too, so she was able to help us see Trudl as an authentic young girl, full of mixed feelings about her host family & country, and very strong negative feelings, of course, about Hitler, and a powerful wish for magic to be real.
Jenny learns about her through the copybook, used as a journal, and feels such a connection that she begins to believe in the power of a magic talisman. Eventually, with the show more help of loving parents and new friends, everything & everyone gets sorted out, with lessons learned, mysteries solved, and kinships strengthened.
Jenny isn't, imo, quite as strong a character, but some readers will love her. Details about her exploration of London with her family, and her conversations with the night clerk & the canary, and about Trudl's houseful of pets, etc., are intriguing, involving, memorable.
Not the kind of book I would have liked when I was 10-12. Not the kind I'd choose now, because I'm burnt out on HF about the Hitler era. However, I'm glad I've learned that [a:Doris Orgel|158096|Doris Orgel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1310070747p2/158096.jpg] is an author worth reading, whatever the subject. This is not just another WWII HF, nor is it a eccentric little time-travel fantasy. It's no more or less than a beautifully-told story. show less
Jenny learns about her through the copybook, used as a journal, and feels such a connection that she begins to believe in the power of a magic talisman. Eventually, with the show more help of loving parents and new friends, everything & everyone gets sorted out, with lessons learned, mysteries solved, and kinships strengthened.
Jenny isn't, imo, quite as strong a character, but some readers will love her. Details about her exploration of London with her family, and her conversations with the night clerk & the canary, and about Trudl's houseful of pets, etc., are intriguing, involving, memorable.
Not the kind of book I would have liked when I was 10-12. Not the kind I'd choose now, because I'm burnt out on HF about the Hitler era. However, I'm glad I've learned that [a:Doris Orgel|158096|Doris Orgel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1310070747p2/158096.jpg] is an author worth reading, whatever the subject. This is not just another WWII HF, nor is it a eccentric little time-travel fantasy. It's no more or less than a beautifully-told story. show less
A poor peasant named Crayfish and his young daughter Maggie often go hungry in this folk tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, and retold here by children's author Doris Orgel. Delivering firewood to a wealthy doctor one day, Crayfish and Maggie are forced to watch the man eat his multi-course meal. After questioning the doctor as to how he too can become a medical man, Crayfish sets up shop as "Doctor All-Knowing," soon attracting the attention of a wealthy man who hires him to discover who show more has been stealing from him. When Crayfish accidentally discovers the culprits, will he reveal them to the wealthy man, thereby sealing their fate, or will he find a way to restore the stolen property without any loss of life...?
The ninety-eighth story in the Brothers Grimm collection of fairy-tales, Doctor Know-All - "Doktor Allwissend" in the German - originally concerned the adventures of a peasant and his wife, but reteller Doris Orgel has changed the wife into a daughter, bringing a child character into the story. The change isn't terribly intrusive, and the story here is engaging. It is an example of what is, in the Aarne-Thompson folklore classification system, categorized as tale type 1641, about being in the right place at the right time. It strikes me as being chiefly a story about luck - Crayfish 'discovers' the identity of the thieves by purest chance - and not abusing that luck by misusing it to be cruel. I enjoyed the story, which I haven't seen retold in picture-book form before, and thought Alexandra Boiger's accompanying watercolor illustrations were very appealing. Recommended to anyone who enjoys fairy-tales, or is looking for children's stories in which the luck of an impoverished hero turns for the better. show less
The ninety-eighth story in the Brothers Grimm collection of fairy-tales, Doctor Know-All - "Doktor Allwissend" in the German - originally concerned the adventures of a peasant and his wife, but reteller Doris Orgel has changed the wife into a daughter, bringing a child character into the story. The change isn't terribly intrusive, and the story here is engaging. It is an example of what is, in the Aarne-Thompson folklore classification system, categorized as tale type 1641, about being in the right place at the right time. It strikes me as being chiefly a story about luck - Crayfish 'discovers' the identity of the thieves by purest chance - and not abusing that luck by misusing it to be cruel. I enjoyed the story, which I haven't seen retold in picture-book form before, and thought Alexandra Boiger's accompanying watercolor illustrations were very appealing. Recommended to anyone who enjoys fairy-tales, or is looking for children's stories in which the luck of an impoverished hero turns for the better. show less
This was hands down the best book I've read this year. (I don't know what it says about me that some of my favorite books are written for kids).
Taking place immediately before and during Hitler's rise to power, a Jewish girl, living in Vienna, records the events in her diary as they occur. Why doesn't her family want her to hang out with her best friend? Why does she have to sit in the back row at school? Will the Austrian Chancellor hold his stand against Hitler? (well, we know the answer show more to that one). Although technically a novel, it does follow some of the real life experiences of the author herself, and has been one of the most readable resources for explaining some of the political occurences and life events PRIOR to the start of WWII. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended for all ages show less
Taking place immediately before and during Hitler's rise to power, a Jewish girl, living in Vienna, records the events in her diary as they occur. Why doesn't her family want her to hang out with her best friend? Why does she have to sit in the back row at school? Will the Austrian Chancellor hold his stand against Hitler? (well, we know the answer show more to that one). Although technically a novel, it does follow some of the real life experiences of the author herself, and has been one of the most readable resources for explaining some of the political occurences and life events PRIOR to the start of WWII. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended for all ages show less
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