[Wolf Solent (1929) and Porius (1951) together] demonstrate the ways in which John Cowper Powys has developed and changed, and together they also show to what extent his whole literary production has been dominated by certain original mythologies, haunting scenes and dominant human relationships. The two novels also illustrate the various literary influences which have been so powerful in Powys's work. (pp. 11-12)

Most novelists, no doubt, must be lessened by any charges of derivation, but John Cowper Powys has suffered on the contrary from a most false general impression that he stands almost in entire isolation. Paradoxically this writer, so peculiarly pious in his reverence for his literary ancestors, has been made to seem arrogantly separate…. The two novels are in great contrast, for Wolf Solent has the most ordinary setting and the least extraordinary events (though this does not mean ordinary) of any of his novels; Porius is...