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Sons of the Covenant: A Tale of London Jewry

by Samuel GORDON (1871 - 1927)

Chapter 02

Born in London's poverty-stricken and heavily Jewish East End, the Lipcott boys create their own successes in life and love. The brothers' commitment to improving the lives of working class people leads them to concoct The Scheme to help both the residents of their former neighbourhood and the Jewish people as a whole. The author stresses the responsibility of middle class Jews toward the Jewish poor. Consequently, this 1900 story has its preachy moments as well as some essentialised speculations about Jewish history and character. But the book isn't all earnestness - there are character studies, love interests, and some great comic scenes, too! The son of a Russian rabbi, Samuel Gordon (1871-1927) was born in Germany and came to England at the age of 13. Like Phil Lipcott, his protagonist in this novel, Gordon attended Cambridge University. The club envisioned by The Scheme seems modeled after London's Jewish Working Men's Institute. This was one of several East End organisations (e.g., the Jewish Girls Club, the Brady Boys Club) established by Jewish philanthropists around the turn of the 19th century to "instill in the rising generation all that is best in the English character..." (Col. A. E. Goldsmit, founder of the Jewish Lads Brigade). (Summary by Adrian Praetzellis)

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Listen next episodes of Sons of the Covenant: A Tale of London Jewry:
Chapter 03 , Chapter 04 , Chapter 05 , Chapter 06 , Chapter 07 , Chapter 08 , Chapter 09 , Chapter 10 , Chapter 11 , Chapter 12 , Chapter 13 , Chapter 14 , Chapter 15 , Chapter 16 , Chapter 17 , Chapter 18 Part 1 , Chapter 18 Part 2 , Chapter 19 , Chapter 20 Part 1 , Chapter 20 Part 2 , Chapter 21 , Chapter 22 , Chapter 23 , Chapter 24 , Chapter 25 , Chapter 26 , Chapter 27 , Chapter 28 , Chapter 29 , Chapter 30 , Chapter 31 Part 1 , Chapter 31 Part 2