first volume, which has appeared, is a powerful tale of the life of the underworld where the hero, kidnaped as a child, passes his youth; the Jewish element in this first part is negligible; it may appear in the future volumes. "The Chosen People," by Sidney Nyburg, presents an excellent diagnosis of the situation in a large American Jewish community. The antagonisms between the native American and the Russian Jewish elements are clearly set forth. These three writers will undoubtedly prove to be forerunners of a great number who will find material for novels in the kaleidoscopic life of modern American Jewry. The original purpose of this volume was to subject to a critical analysis, from the Jewish standpoint, English fictional classics that have Jews as leading characters. I am loth to depart from that original purpose and therefore cannot give a place in the volume to recent novels which have not, and what is more, may not, find a place among the classics of English literature. However, in order to make the volume a comprehensive handbook of the subject it treats, a bibliography of the Jew in English fiction has been included in this new edition as an appendix. For this bibliography I am indebted to Miss Rebecca Schneider, who prepared this painstaking work originally in 1914 for the New York State Library School as a graduation requirement. The bibliography has been brought up to date. Cincinnati, 1918. DAVID PHILIPSON. THE JEW IN ENGLISH FICTION. I. INTRODUCTORY. As portrayed in English fiction from the time of Elizabeth to our day, the Jew is almost Protean in his character, if we may judge from the various guises he has been made to assume, running the whole length from the villainy of Barabbas to the ideal nobleness of Mordecai. So remarkable a phenomenon is well worthy of investigation. The theme is of sufficient importance to demand earnest, careful, and unprejudiced consideration. The influence of these productions in shaping the popular conception of the Jew can not be overestimated, since the fascinating form wherein the matter is presented is particularly effective in leaving a deep and lasting impression on the mind of the reader. Where philosophy, with its investigations into the cause, aim, and effect of existence, with its far-reaching inquiries and conclusions, attracts but the few eager and restless minds who would delve into the very mystery of things; where theology, the philosophy of the highest, requires a depth and breadth of comprehension far above the ordinary; where positive science is an ex (5) acting mistress, demanding that exclusive devotion which only some choice spirits can or are willing to give; where historical investigation expects that search into past doings, customs, and thoughts, which can be satisfactorily accomplished only with the greatest labor and skill; where thus the pursuit of truth in any branch demands the discipleship of a lifetime and must be content with the least results, the many, impatient to be amused, nor desirous of exerting the mind overmuch, have found in the novel, "the modern epic," as Fielding terms it, and in the drama, the novel presented to the eye, their chief mental excitement and amusement. Where one will find delight in any of the heavier products of thought, a thousand will eagerly quaff of the waters which flow from the fountain-head of fiction. The ordinary reader is carried along, adopts the conclusions offered, has his opinions shaped and modeled by the writer of fiction. How many are there whose whole knowledge of history, for example, has been derived from this source. There are historical, scientific, philosophical, theological, and political novels, and great is the influence they exert. They are mighty factors in modern culture and modern life. Their power is great for good or for evil, as their producers will. Of many minds they are the only pabulum. It is not my object to decry the trash which passes to-day under the |