BOOKS AND AUTHORS: The Moderns: VIII. Hall Caine

The world, for most people consists of a few friends, an occasional acquaintance, and some familiar landmarks. In the eyes of Hall Caine, the universe is crystallized in the Isle of Man, a scrap of land in the Irish Sea midway between England and Ireland. In this small acre, he sees the world reduced to a stage; he finds in the hearts of the Manxmen all the passions and loves and hates and revenges of all humanity. Unfortunately, he is impressed by the gloom rather than the joyousness of his people.