RARE EDITION of the FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION of Avraham Mapu`s historical novel "Ahavat Zion" (Love of Zion), also considered the first Hebrew novel. This book became widely popular throughout the Jewish world, and is said to have strongly influenced the emergence of Jewish nationalism. The novel was written in quasi-Biblical language, and describes a love story taking place in the Biblical kingdom of Judah. The book already enjoyed wide popularity in Jewish circles, which is well reflected in the quality of the publication. The translation was made by Frank Jaffe, who also added a short introduction on the work and its author. 190x130mm. XII+276 pages. Red cloth Hardcover with gilt lettering on front cover and spine, and embossed decoration on covers and spine. Cover slightly worn. Rear cover stained. Cover corners slightly bumped. Pen inscription on spine. Spine lower edge peeled and partly missing. Spine upper edge tattered. Binding slightly loose. Binding slightly visible on endpaper. Small sticker on front endpaper bottom corner. Pen inscription on contents page, pages X, 276 and rear whitepage. Pages slightly yellowing. [SUMMARY]: This handsome first English edition of a Jewish literature masterpiece is in good reading condition.