Here is Thomas Costain at his best, in a well-constructed novel…. "High Towers" has something for all: historical solidity, biographical interest, glamour. It is rich with learning, alive with adventure.

Its larger enchantments deal with the fabulous Le Moyne family and the growth of the French Empire in North America during the early years of the eighteenth century. Within this framework Mr. Costain offers a satisfying quantity of love stories, excitations and intrigues. The gaudiness of certain of his effects does not depend on specious spectacle; the dazzle is inherent in the tale. He fictionalizes history; he does not fabricate hysteria. He writes of human beings, not of supermen and hussies.

It is true that he will now and again detour the reader to a footnote, making him unnecessarily conscious of the midnight oil. This is less true of his occasional parentheses …, and on the whole his researches...