The Hebrew. By John A. Steuart. (Hodder and Stoughton. Cs.)—This
is scarcely a novel, though it presents to the reader the customary forms of fiction; in essence it is a treatise, put into a more or less dramatic form, of the horrors of over- crowding, and the general condition of the East London popula- tion. And it is a powerful treatise; the dramatic form, too, is well managed. Mr. Steuart's characters talk very well, and very much to the point. We do not know that he can be justly blamed for writing a book of this kind. After all, if you very much want to say a thing, and the thing ought to be said, why not choose the way of saying it which is most likely to be listened to ? What we do regret is the choice of a title. It seems to emphasise what ought not to have been emphasised. An owner of slum property may or may not be a Jew; but there is no reason for suggesting that the Jews have a speciality in this kind of property.
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