20 MAY 1911, Page 20

Just Folks. By Clara E. Laughlin."(Macmillan and Co. 6s.)— To

a certain extent Clara E. Laughlin might be described as an American Miss Loans, though she is fonder of the form of fiction than is her English.prototype. This novel gives an account of life in the region which in an American city corresponds to the East End of London, and it betrays. loth :careful study of the people described and great powers of delineation. The love story of the middle-aged Liza Allen is quite delightful reading, and the description of her romance and of her returned lover, Adam Spear, is extremely entertaining. There are many pictures of Jews, both children and adults, in the book, and it would be well worth read- ing for its insight into the characters of the people described by Liza Allen as "just Yolks," even if it had nottthe-further recom- mendation of being very interesting. -