Page:The Spoils of Poynton (London, William Heinemann, 1897).djvu/306

 With over Ninety Illustrations by and Others

The Athenæum.—'Several of Mr. Zangwill's contemporary Ghetto characters have already become almost classical; but in The King of Schnorrers he goes back to the Jewish community of the eighteenth century for the hero of his principal story; and he is indeed a stupendous hero. . . anyhow, he is well named the king of beggars. The illustrations, by Phil May, add greatly to the attraction of the book.'

The Saturday Review.—'Mr. Zangwill has created a new figure in fiction, and a new type of humour. The entire series of adventures is a triumphant progress. . . . Humour of a rich and active character pervades the delightful history of Manasses. Mr. Zangwill's book is altogether very good reading. It is also very cleverly illustrated by Phil May and other artists.'

The Literary World.—'Of Mr. Zangwill's versatility there is ample proof in this new volume of stories. . . . More noticeable and welcome to us, as well as more characteristic of the author, are the fresh additions he has made to his long series of studies of Jewish life.'

The St. James's Gazette.—'The King of Schnorrers is a very fascinating story. Mr. Zangwill returns to the Ghetto, and gives us a quaint old-world picture as a most appropriate setting for his picturesque hero, the beggar-king. . . . Good as the story of the arch-schnorrer is, there is perhaps an even better "Yiddish" tale in this book. This is "Flutter-Duck." . . . Let us call attention to the excellence, as mere realistic vivid description, of the picture of the room and atmosphere and conditions in which Flutter-Duck and her circle dwelt; there is something of Dickens in this. '

The Daily Telegraph.—'The King of Schnorrers, like Children of the Ghetto, depicts the habits and characteristics of Israel in London with painstaking elaborateness and apparent verisimilitude. The King of Schnorrers is a character-sketch which deals with the manners and customs of native and foreign Jews as they "lived and had their being" in the London of a century and a quarter ago.'

The Daily Chronicle.—'It is a beautiful story. The King of Schnorrers is that great rarity—an entirely new thing, that is as good as it is new.'

The Glasgow Herald.—'On the whole, the book does justice to Mr. Zangwill's rapidly-growing reputation, and the character of Manasseh ought to live.'

The World.—'The exuberant and even occasionally overpowering humour of Mr. Zangwill is at his highest mark in his new volume, The King of Schnorrers.'


 * WILLIAM HEINEMANN,, W.C.