SOURCE: “‘Life, Warm and Stirring’,” in The Nation, New York, Vol. 140, No. 3645, May 15, 1935, pp. 580-81.

In the following review, Ford praises Boyd's characterization and evocation of various periods in American history in Roll River to be a true literary achievement.

Moving with the majestic sweep of deep-running waters, Roll River carries James Boyd's talent to true literary achievement. It is a long book, covering 603 pages, but its length is not the result, one feels, of the present vogue of prolixity. Roll River is not unduly extended; you turn the pages and as you read you feel the story could not be told completely in less space. Always a serious and conscientious workman, Boyd has here lived up to his highest standards.

Roll River is a narrative of two lives and loves. It is the history of Clara Rand, daughter of the solid and sound small capitalist, John Rand...