COMMON CLAY. By H. Hessen Tiltman. (Benn. 7s. &l.) This
novel is a study in ambition, having for its setting the English Labour Movement of the last twenty years. Born in the Hammersmith slums, Jim Hewlett uses the rapidly developing movement as the ladder by which he climbs to power and influence. He becomes in turn a Trade Union official, a Member of Parliament, and a Cabinet Minister. But his lack of real concern for humanity is shown by his attitude towards his sensitive younger brother, whom he allows to starve. Like all success sought for its own sake, achievement turns to dead sea fruit in Jim's hands, and a deep-seated weakness in him, manifested now and again by his relationships with various women, brings about his ultimate downfall and tragedy. Both as the portrait of a single man and as a panorama of certain aspects of recent English history, Common Clay is remarkably vivid and vigorous.
Previous page
