Israel Zangwill

“ Zangwill is the wittiest of modern Englishmen. Not only has he a style, flexible, graceful, and as light as the flight of a sea-bird, but he has ideas, and the art of sketching delicious situations in an original and charming way. The sin of obviousness he cannot be accused of, nor the greater crime of repetition. ”

“ There is ever lurking under his sentiment a sarcasm—delicate as a petal, but as perceptible as the pea to the princess through all the sixteen mattresses. Not the unconventionally of the dramatis personæ, nor the strange locale in which they move, explains fully the fascination of 'The King of Schnorrers.' Manasseh de Costa is a creation, a delightfully humorous figure whose magnificent pretension and impertinent wit give him a place in the gallery of celebrated characters. ”

“ They have remarkable tragic force, but the sombreness is to a great extent dispelled by the subtle humor which has ever distinguished the author's work.
"This volume, to our thinking, contains the cream of his work."—The Bookman.
"The talent of telling a story in a fascinating way, the power of using language in its most effective and graphic manner... are traits Zangwill possesses to a wonderful degree, and evidences of them mark every page of this new work from his facile pen."—The American Hebrew. ”