SOURCE: "The Novels," in Norman Douglas, Twayne Publishers, 1965, pp. 121-58.

In the following excerpt, Lindeman examines Douglas's novels, discussing their plots and main themes, and relating some of the critical commentary they generated.

Douglas' three novels—South Wind, They Went, and In the Beginning—are usually considered satirical. Satire is difficult of definition. Its tone is one of disapprobation; its tools are irony, wit, humor, and exaggeration. And it is theoretically didactic, since its implied purpose is the renovation of society. Douglas' novels are witty and humorous, employing the kind of exaggerated characterization associated with satire and striking at human foibles and self-delusion. Certainly Douglas would have been scandalized by the suggestion that he intended to reform society. And such a suggestion needs qualification. But it is clear that he held values which he believed to be better than those of most of his fellow men and that...