Written with great satirical perception and an unerring sense of wry, preposterous humor, the book relates the adventures of Manasseh Bueno Barzillai Azevedo da Costa, a proud, resourceful Sephardic schnorrer (or beggar) who lords it over his fellow mendicants in London of the late 1790s. Faced with the marriage of his daughter to a man he considers a socially inferior beggar, Manasseh uses all the powers of his intellect to deal successfully--and with comic repercussions--with what he perceives as serious problems of life. Widely regarded as one of the author's most enduring works, this witty and wise literary gem pokes fun at the prejudices dividing London's Jewish community in the late eighteenth century. The story is full of clichés about the stinginess of the Jews etc... Not everybody's cup of tea... The recording is excellent, however. Five stars for Mr Adrian Praetzellis but only three stars for the book. A very nice reading - questionable "Zangwill" humour Philippe Horak 2008-04-11 16:23:11 2008-04-11 16:23:11 4 1 4.00