28 SEPTEMBER 1929, Page 29

The publication of Count Corti's monumental work on the Rothschilds

excited a great deal of interest. Anyone who found himself involved in the two large volumes could hardly rest until he had finished them both. To read two such volumes, however, is a serious undertaking. Mr. M. E. Ravage has written an independent one-volume history of the house, Five Men of Frankfort (Harrap, 10s. 6d.). It is a lively and interesting book, cordially to be commended to all who wish a briefer account of the great financial and political influence of the Rothschilds. There is more interpretation of character ; there are more sketches of the milieu in which the Rothsehilds worked ; and though the book is much less valu- able as a document than Count Corti's study and reads more as if the story had been " written up," there is no doubt that it will find a wide and appreciative audience.

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