Review by Choice Review
The presence of British Jews in British popular culture has received scant attention. In his tight, well-organized introduction to this book, Abrams (Bangor Univ., Wales) argues that the Jewish presence in British popular culture must be moved from the periphery of scholarly consciousness to the center. The first four essays in this collection address specific films and controversies in the period leading up to and immediately following WW II. For example, Gil Toffell offers a case study of the controversy behind the production of the BBC version of Jew Süss (1934), revealing how mainstream anti-Semitism was in British society at the time and how hesitant Anglo Jewry was to confront it. Phyllis Lassner and Alexis Pogorelskin tell a similar story in their examination of The Mortal Storm (1940). The remaining essays approach the subject topically, considering Jewish themes in comedy, feminism, and race relations and bringing the subject into the present. Though these essays can be read on their own to great effect, pairing them with similar studies on American Jews and popular culture makes for fascinating comparisons. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --Frederic Krome, University of Cincinnati--Clermont College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
